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Throughout last year's presidential campaign, the former president courted voters with promises to lower prices immediately upon taking office. But, after he assumed office, he seemed to pay precious little attention to the cost of living. This shifted following price-fatigued voters expressed dissatisfaction at the ballot box. Shortly thereafter, his team initiated a slapdash campaign to tackle affordability. Unfortunately, the drive is a disorganized endeavor—filled with absurdity, contradictions, magical thinking, blame-shifting, and misleading statements.

Detached Claims and Grocery Store Reality

Merely 48 hours post-election, Trump began his cost-reduction push with a disastrous statement: “Food prices are way down. All items is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” This comment from billionaire Trump—who frequently associates with fellow billionaires—revealed utter contempt for everyday citizens who struggle when visiting the grocery store. In effect, he ignored their struggles as trivial, implying they had it wrong about actual costs.

His assertion that everything was “way down” was absurdly obtuse and dishonest. In what way could all costs be falling when his cherished tariffs were pushing up prices? Official statistics show banana prices rose 6.9% over the past year, beef prices climbed almost 15%, and coffee prices jumped 18.9%—partly because of import taxes applied to Brazilian products. In the first three quarters, costs increased in five of the six main grocery groups tracked by the Consumer Price Index, such as animal proteins (up 4.5%), drinks (increasing nearly 3%), and fruits and vegetables (rising slightly).

Inconsistencies and Inaccuracies in Economic Statements

Despite the evidence, Trump continues to push his big lie about affordability. After the vote, he has claimed there is “almost no price increases,” declared “costs have fallen significantly,” and argued “living is cheaper under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” Such remarks contradict the fact that general costs have unarguably risen after the previous administration. Currently, price growth is running at a 3% annual rate, that’s 50% higher than the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal. In another falsehood, Trump claimed that fuel costs had fallen to nearly $2 a gallon, even though official data indicate they are $3.19.

Faced with reality and declining opinion polls, some Trump aides apparently warned that his “prices are down” message made him sound dangerously out of touch from ordinary people. A lot of voters are angry about rising costs following assurances of reductions. As a result, aides suggested a simple solution: roll back some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. This sensible idea clashed with Trump’s absurd assertion that new tariffs would not increase costs for American shoppers.

Proposed Solutions and Their Possible Impact

With some tariffs reduced on coffee, beef, tomatoes, and bananas, the administration will probably claim that he has lowered costs once these products begin to fall in price. That would be like an arsonist taking credit for extinguishing a fire that he ignited. On another occasion, while speaking McDonald’s executives, he declared that “we are in the peak period of America” and assured listeners that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” Such statements are easy for a billionaire to make, but seem insincere to millions of Americans who are struggling—particularly when many risk cuts to nutrition assistance or rising insurance costs.

Per a survey conducted last fall, 74% of Americans believe the state of the economy are mediocre or bad, while just a quarter consider them good or excellent. Another poll showed that 61% of Americans feel Trump’s policies have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Economic Reality and Suggested Measures

The treasury secretary, Trump’s top economic official, lately disputed claims of a prosperous era. He stated that instead of thriving, some parts of the US economy “are in recession.” The manufacturing sector—a priority for the administration—seems to have shrunk for multiple consecutive months and lost around 33,000 jobs this year. Pointing to this weakness, the secretary called on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates—an action that could help affordability.

In response to public dismay about living costs, Trump proposed a direct payment of “a payout of at least $2,000 a person” not for “high income people.” For many households in need, this sounds like manna from heaven, but it is unlikely that lawmakers—concerned about huge budget deficits—will approve the proposal. This idea could increase federal spending, push up borrowing costs, and potentially fuel inflation by injecting cash into the economy.

Another proposed solution for cost issues centered on creating half-century home loans, based on the idea that they could lower housing costs. But, the truth is that 50-year mortgages would do little to reduce installments—frequently reducing them by just $100 or $200 per month. The drawback is that these mortgages could significantly increase the overall cost borrowers pay and slow building home value.

Faulting the Previous Administration and Economic Outlook

In their affordability campaign, Trump and his team have once more pointed fingers at the previous president for financial challenges, such as rising prices. Spokespeople claimed they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up the prior administration’s price hikes.” These are unfounded and inaccurate claims. In reality, the former president left a strong economy, with inflation way down, solid expansion, and unemployment low. However, Trump’s policies—particularly import taxes—have resulted in an economic mess, driving costs higher and reducing economic output.

According to an economist, lead analyst at Moody’s Analytics, 22 states are already in recession, with their economies damaged by the administration’s trade policies. He fears that if key regions like California and New York tumble into recession, the nation could slide into a widespread recession. In downturns, people generally possess reduced funds to spend, and price increases usually declines. Sadly, with Trump’s much-ballyhooed cost initiative probably ineffective to control costs, his primary method for achieving increased affordability might end up pushing the nation into recession—a scenario that hard-pressed households really can’t afford.