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Throughout the previous presidential campaign, Donald Trump courted voters with pledges to reduce costs immediately upon taking office. But, once he assumed office, he seemed to pay precious little focus to the cost of living. This shifted following price-fatigued voters delivered a rebuke at the polls. Shortly thereafter, his team launched a hastily assembled effort to address living costs. Unfortunately, the drive is a hot mess—characterized by illogical claims, contradictions, magical thinking, scapegoating, and misleading statements.

Out-of-Touch Claims and Supermarket Reality

Just two days after the election, Trump kicked off his affordability drive with a poorly received statement: “Our groceries are way down. Everything is way down… So I don’t want to hear about the cost of living.” This comment from billionaire Trump—often associates with other ultra-rich individuals—demonstrated utter contempt for everyday citizens who struggle every time they go supermarkets. In effect, he dismissed their concerns as trivial, implying they were mistaken about actual costs.

His assertion about declining prices proved highly misleading and dishonest. How could all costs be falling when the taxes he imposed were pushing up prices? Recent data indicate banana prices rose nearly 7% in the last twelve months, beef prices went up 14.7%, and the cost of coffee jumped by nearly 19%—in part due to punitive tariffs applied to Brazilian products. Between January and September, prices rose in five of the six food categories tracked by the government’s price index, including meats, poultry, and fish (up 4.5%), non-alcoholic beverages (increasing nearly 3%), and produce (rising slightly).

Contradictions and Inaccuracies in Financial Claims

Despite the evidence, the president persists in repeating his misleading narrative about affordability. After the vote, he has claimed there is “virtually no inflation,” declared “prices are way down,” and asserted “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” Such remarks contradict the reality that prices overall have unarguably risen after the previous administration. At present, price growth is running at a 3 percent per year, that’s 50% higher than the central bank’s target of 2 percent. Adding to the inaccuracies, Trump claimed that gas prices had fallen to nearly $2 a gallon, despite government figures show they are over three dollars.

Confronted by reality and declining opinion polls, advisers evidently cautioned that his “prices are down” message made him sound dangerously out of touch from ordinary people. Many voters are frustrated about prices continuing to climb following assurances of decreases. In response, advisers proposed one quick fix: reduce certain import taxes. This sensible idea contradicted Trump’s absurd assertion that new tariffs would not increase costs for US consumers.

Proposed Fixes and Their Potential Effects

With some tariffs reduced on several food items, the administration will probably announce that he has lowered costs once those foods begin to fall in price. This would be like an arsonist taking credit for extinguishing a fire that he ignited. In another instance, when addressing fast-food leaders, he declared that “this is the golden age of America” and told listeners that “prices are coming down and all of that stuff.” Such statements are easy for a wealthy individual to make, but they ring hollow to countless households who are struggling—particularly when millions risk cuts to nutrition assistance or rising insurance costs.

According to a recent poll conducted last fall, 74% of Americans think economic conditions are fair or poor, while just a quarter rate them good or excellent. Another poll showed that 61% of Americans say the administration’s actions have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Financial Truth and Proposed Steps

The treasury secretary, the president’s top economic official, lately contradicted assertions of a golden age. He stated that instead of thriving, some parts of the US economy “have contracted.” The manufacturing sector—which Trump vowed to save—seems to have shrunk for eight months in a row and shed around tens of thousands of positions since January. Pointing to this weakness, Bessent urged the central bank to cut interest rates—an action that could help affordability.

In response to widespread concern about affordability, the president proposed a cash handout of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” excluding “high income people.” For many struggling Americans, it seems like manna from heaven, but the prospects are dim that Congress—already alarmed about huge budget deficits—will approve such a plan. This idea could increase federal spending, push up interest rates, and potentially drive prices higher by injecting cash into the economy.

A further supposed fix for cost issues involved creating 50-year mortgages, based on the idea that they could lower housing costs. However, the truth is that such lengthy loans would do little to lower monthly payments—often cutting them by just $100 or $200 per month. The drawback is that these mortgages could more than double the total interest homeowners pay and slow building home value.

Faulting the Previous Administration and Economic Outlook

As part of their cost-cutting effort, the administration have again pointed fingers at Biden for financial challenges, including rising prices. Officials claimed they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up the prior administration’s price hikes.” These are absurd and inaccurate claims. In reality, the former president handed over a strong economy, with inflation way down, economic growth strong, and unemployment low. But, Trump’s policies—especially import taxes—have resulted in an difficult situation, pushing up prices and reducing economic output.

According to an economist, lead analyst at a research firm, numerous regions are experiencing economic decline, with their economies damaged by Trump’s tariffs. Zandi worries that if key regions such as major economies tumble into recession, the nation could face a widespread recession. During recessions, people typically have less money to spend, and inflation usually declines. Unfortunately, given Trump’s much-ballyhooed affordability campaign likely to do little to control costs, his primary method for improving living standards might end up triggering an economic contraction—something that hard-pressed households cannot handle.