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During last year's race for the White House, Donald Trump courted the electorate with pledges to lower costs starting on day one. However, after he assumed office, there was minimal attention to affordability issues. All that changed after inflation-weary citizens expressed dissatisfaction at the ballot box. Within days, the Trump administration initiated a slapdash campaign to tackle living costs. Regrettably, this initiative has proven a hot mess—characterized by absurdity, contradictions, magical thinking, scapegoating, and Trumpian dishonesty.

Detached Claims and Supermarket Truth

Merely 48 hours post-election, the president began his affordability drive with a poorly received statement: “Our groceries are way down. All items is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” This comment from billionaire Trump—often associates with fellow billionaires—revealed utter contempt for everyday citizens who struggle when visiting the grocery store. In effect, he ignored their concerns as trivial, suggesting they had it wrong about price levels.

This statement that everything was “way down” proved absurdly obtuse and inaccurate. In what way could all costs be falling when his cherished tariffs were increasing costs? Recent data indicate the cost of bananas rose nearly 7% in the last twelve months, beef prices climbed almost 15%, and the cost of coffee surged by nearly 19%—partly because of punitive tariffs on Brazil’s coffee and beef. Between January and September, prices rose in five of the six food categories tracked by the government’s price index, including animal proteins (up 4.5%), drinks (increasing nearly 3%), and produce (up 1.3%).

Contradictions and Inaccuracies in Economic Statements

In spite of these numbers, Trump persists in repeating his big lie about lower costs. After the vote, he has claimed there is “virtually no inflation,” insisted “costs have fallen significantly,” and asserted “living is cheaper under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” These statements ignore the fact that prices overall have clearly increased after the previous administration. At present, price growth is running at a 3% annual rate, which is half again as much than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent. Adding to the inaccuracies, Trump boasted that fuel costs had fallen to nearly $2 a gallon, even though government figures indicate they are over three dollars.

Confronted by actual conditions and lower approval ratings, some Trump aides apparently cautioned that his “prices are down” rhetoric made him sound dangerously out of touch from ordinary people. Many citizens are angry about rising costs following promises of reductions. As a result, advisers suggested a simple solution: roll back certain import taxes. This sensible idea contradicted the president’s unrealistic claim that new tariffs wouldn’t raise prices for US consumers.

Proposed Solutions and Their Potential Effects

With some tariffs being rolled back on several food items, Trump will probably announce that he has lowered costs once these products start declining in price. That would be like an arsonist boasting for extinguishing a fire that he ignited. In another instance, when addressing McDonald’s executives, Trump declared that “we are in the golden age of America” and assured listeners that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” Such statements come naturally for a billionaire to make, but seem insincere to countless households facing hardships—especially when millions face losing food stamps or rising insurance costs.

According to a survey from October, three-quarters of respondents think economic conditions are fair or poor, while just a quarter rate them positive. Another poll found that a majority of citizens feel Trump’s policies have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Financial Truth and Suggested Measures

Scott Bessent, Trump’s top economic official, lately disputed claims of a prosperous era. He stated that instead of thriving, some parts of the US economy “have contracted.” Industrial production—which Trump vowed to save—appears to have contracted for eight months in a row and shed approximately 33,000 jobs this year. Pointing to this weakness, the secretary urged the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates—an action that could help affordability.

Reacting to widespread concern about affordability, Trump suggested a direct payment of “a payout of at least $2,000 a person” not for “the wealthy.” To numerous struggling Americans, this sounds like manna from heaven, but the prospects are dim that lawmakers—concerned about huge budget deficits—will approve the proposal. The scheme would likely increase federal spending, push up borrowing costs, and potentially fuel inflation by injecting cash into the economy.

Another supposed fix for affordability involved creating 50-year mortgages, based on the idea that this would lower housing costs. But, reality is that 50-year mortgages would do little to lower monthly payments—frequently reducing them by a small amount per month. The downside is that these mortgages could more than double the total interest homeowners pay and slow building home value.

Blaming the Past Government and Economic Prospects

As part of their cost-cutting effort, the administration have again blamed Biden for financial challenges, such as increasing costs. Officials claimed they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “addressing the prior administration’s price hikes.” These are unfounded and untruthful allegations. Actually, the former president left a strong economy, with low price growth, economic growth strong, and minimal joblessness. But, the current administration’s actions—particularly his tariffs—have resulted in an economic mess, driving costs higher and reducing economic output.

Per Mark Zandi, chief economist at a research firm, numerous regions are already in recession, with their economies damaged by Trump’s tariffs. He fears that if large states such as California and New York enter a downturn, the nation could face a broad economic slump. In downturns, consumers generally possess less money to spend, and inflation usually declines. Unfortunately, given Trump’s much-ballyhooed affordability campaign probably ineffective to control costs, his most effective “tool” for achieving increased affordability might prove to be triggering an economic contraction—something that struggling Americans cannot handle.