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During the previous race for the White House, the former president wooed voters with promises to lower prices immediately upon taking office. However, once his inauguration, there was precious little focus to affordability issues. All that changed after inflation-weary voters delivered a rebuke at the polls. Shortly thereafter, the Trump administration launched a slapdash effort to tackle affordability. Regrettably, this initiative is a hot mess—characterized by illogical claims, contradictions, magical thinking, scapegoating, and Trumpian dishonesty.

Out-of-Touch Claims and Supermarket Truth

Merely 48 hours post-election, Trump began his cost-reduction push with a disastrous remark: “Food prices are way down. Everything is way down… So I don’t want to hear about the cost of living.” These words from the wealthy leader—who frequently mingles with fellow billionaires—demonstrated utter contempt for millions of Americans who struggle every time they go supermarkets. Essentially, he dismissed their concerns as unimportant, suggesting they were mistaken about price levels.

This statement about declining prices was absurdly obtuse and dishonest. In what way could all costs be falling when the taxes he imposed were increasing prices? Recent data show banana prices increased nearly 7% over the past year, the price of beef climbed 14.7%, and coffee prices jumped by nearly 19%—partly due to punitive tariffs applied to Brazilian products. Between January and September, costs increased in five of the six main grocery groups monitored by the government’s price index, including meats, poultry, and fish (up 4.5%), drinks (increasing nearly 3%), and produce (rising slightly).

Inconsistencies and Falsehoods in Economic Claims

In spite of these numbers, the president persists in repeating his misleading narrative about affordability. Since election day, he has claimed there is “virtually no inflation,” insisted “costs have fallen significantly,” and asserted “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under his predecessor.” These statements contradict the fact that prices overall have unarguably risen since Biden left office. Currently, inflation is running at a 3 percent per year, which is half again as much than the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal. Adding to the inaccuracies, Trump boasted that fuel costs had fallen to around two dollars, even though government figures show they average over three dollars.

Faced with reality and declining opinion polls, some Trump aides apparently cautioned that his “prices are down” rhetoric made him sound disconnected from typical Americans. A lot of voters are frustrated about rising costs following assurances of reductions. In response, advisers proposed a simple solution: reduce certain import taxes. This sensible idea contradicted the president’s unrealistic claim that additional taxes wouldn’t raise prices for American shoppers.

Suggested Fixes and Their Potential Effects

With certain taxes being rolled back on coffee, beef, tomatoes, and bananas, Trump will probably announce that he has lowered costs once those foods begin to fall in price. That would be similar to a firestarter taking credit for extinguishing a blaze that he had started. In another instance, when addressing McDonald’s executives, Trump declared that “this is the peak period of America” and told the audience that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” Such statements are easy for a wealthy individual to make, but seem insincere to millions of Americans facing hardships—especially when many face losing food stamps or skyrocketing health premiums.

Per a survey from October, 74% of Americans believe the state of the economy are fair or poor, while only 26% rate them good or excellent. A separate survey showed that 61% of Americans feel the administration’s actions have “worsened economic conditions” in the country.

Financial Reality and Suggested Steps

The treasury secretary, Trump’s chief financial officer, recently disputed assertions of a prosperous era. He stated that far from booming, some parts of the US economy “are in recession.” Industrial production—which Trump vowed to save—seems to have shrunk for multiple consecutive months and lost around tens of thousands of positions this year. Citing this weakness, the secretary called on the Federal Reserve to reduce borrowing costs—an action that could ease financial pressure.

Reacting to widespread concern about living costs, Trump proposed a cash handout of “a payout of at least $2,000 a person” excluding “the wealthy.” To numerous households in need, this sounds like manna from heaven, but the prospects are dim that Congress—concerned about large shortfalls—will approve such a plan. The scheme could increase federal spending, increase borrowing costs, and potentially drive prices higher by injecting cash into the economy.

A further proposed solution for affordability involved creating 50-year mortgages, with the notion that this would reduce monthly mortgage payments. However, the truth is that such lengthy loans would do little to lower monthly payments—often cutting them by just $100 or $200 each month. The downside is that these mortgages could more than double the total interest borrowers pay and slow building home value.

Faulting the Previous Administration and Economic Prospects

In their cost-cutting effort, Trump and his team have once more pointed fingers at the previous president for economic problems, such as rising prices. Officials stated they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up the prior administration’s price hikes.” These are unfounded and untruthful allegations. In reality, the former president left a strong economy, with low price growth, solid expansion, and unemployment low. However, Trump’s policies—especially import taxes—have created an economic mess, pushing up prices and reducing economic output.

According to an economist, chief economist at a research firm, 22 states are experiencing economic decline, with their conditions worsened by Trump’s tariffs. Zandi fears that if key regions like major economies enter a downturn, the US could face a widespread recession. During recessions, people typically have reduced funds to spend, and inflation often falls. Unfortunately, given Trump’s much-ballyhooed cost initiative likely to do little to control costs, his primary method for achieving increased affordability might end up triggering an economic contraction—a scenario that struggling Americans cannot handle.