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During last year's presidential campaign, the former president wooed the electorate with promises to reduce prices starting on day one. But, after his inauguration, there was precious little attention to affordability issues. All that changed after price-fatigued citizens expressed dissatisfaction at the ballot box. Within days, the Trump administration initiated a hastily assembled campaign to tackle affordability. Unfortunately, the drive has proven a hot mess—filled with illogical claims, inconsistencies, magical thinking, blame-shifting, and Trumpian dishonesty.

Out-of-Touch Claims and Supermarket Truth

Just two days after the election, Trump kicked off his affordability drive with a disastrous statement: “Our groceries are way down. All items is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” These words from the wealthy leader—often mingles with fellow billionaires—demonstrated a lack of empathy for everyday citizens facing difficulties every time they go the grocery store. Essentially, he dismissed their concerns as unimportant, implying they were mistaken about price levels.

This statement that everything was “way down” was highly misleading and inaccurate. How could every price be decreasing when his cherished tariffs were increasing prices? Official statistics show banana prices rose 6.9% in the last twelve months, beef prices climbed almost 15%, and the cost of coffee jumped 18.9%—partly because of punitive tariffs on Brazil’s coffee and beef. In the first three quarters, prices rose in five of the six main grocery groups monitored by the Consumer Price Index, such as animal proteins (up 4.5%), drinks (increasing nearly 3%), and produce (up 1.3%).

Inconsistencies and Falsehoods in Financial Claims

In spite of these numbers, Trump continues to push his misleading narrative about lower costs. Since election day, he has stated there is “almost no price increases,” declared “costs have fallen significantly,” and argued “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under his predecessor.” These statements ignore the fact that prices overall have clearly increased since Biden left office. At present, price growth is at a 3% annual rate, which is half again as much than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent. In another falsehood, he boasted that fuel costs had fallen to nearly $2 a gallon, even though government figures show they are $3.19.

Faced with actual conditions and lower approval ratings, advisers apparently warned that his “prices are down” rhetoric made him sound dangerously out of touch from typical Americans. Many voters are angry about prices continuing to climb following promises of reductions. As a result, advisers proposed one quick fix: roll back certain import taxes. The logical move clashed with the president’s unrealistic claim that additional taxes would not increase costs for US consumers.

Proposed Solutions and Their Potential Impact

With certain taxes being rolled back on several food items, Trump will likely claim that he has lowered costs once these products begin to fall in price. This would be like an arsonist taking credit for putting out a fire that he ignited. In another instance, while speaking McDonald’s executives, he stated that “this is the peak period of America” and told the audience that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” These comments are easy for a wealthy individual to make, but seem insincere to millions of Americans facing hardships—particularly when many risk losing food stamps or skyrocketing health premiums.

According to a recent poll conducted last fall, three-quarters of respondents think the state of the economy are mediocre or bad, while just a quarter rate them good or excellent. Another poll found that 61% of Americans say the administration’s actions have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Economic Truth and Proposed Steps

Scott Bessent, Trump’s top economic official, lately contradicted claims of a golden age. 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 multiple consecutive months and lost around tens of thousands of positions since January. Pointing to these challenges, the secretary called on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates—a move that could help affordability.

In response to public dismay about living costs, Trump suggested a direct payment of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” excluding “high income people.” To numerous struggling Americans, it seems like manna from heaven, but it is unlikely that Congress—already alarmed about huge budget deficits—will approve such a plan. This idea would likely raise government expenditure, push up interest rates, and potentially drive prices higher by putting more money into consumers’ pockets.

A further supposed fix for affordability centered on creating half-century home loans, with the notion that this would reduce monthly mortgage payments. However, reality is that 50-year mortgages would do little to lower monthly payments—often cutting them by just $100 or $200 per month. The drawback is that these mortgages could significantly increase the overall cost borrowers pay and hinder their accumulation of equity.

Faulting the Previous Administration and Financial Outlook

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 “cleaning up Biden’s inflation.” This is absurd and untruthful allegations. In reality, the former president handed over a robust economic situation, with inflation way down, economic growth strong, and minimal joblessness. But, Trump’s policies—especially his tariffs—have resulted in an economic mess, driving costs higher and slowing GDP growth.

Per an economist, lead analyst at a research firm, 22 states are experiencing economic decline, with their conditions worsened by the administration’s trade policies. Zandi fears that if large states like California and New York tumble into recession, the nation could face a widespread recession. During recessions, consumers typically have less money to spend, and price increases often falls. Sadly, with the highly-touted cost initiative probably ineffective to hold down prices, his primary method for achieving increased affordability might end up pushing the nation into recession—something that hard-pressed households cannot handle.