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Throughout last year's presidential campaign, Donald Trump courted voters with promises to reduce prices immediately upon taking office. However, after he assumed office, there was minimal focus to affordability issues. All that changed after inflation-weary voters delivered a rebuke at the polls. Within days, the Trump administration launched a hastily assembled campaign to address affordability. Unfortunately, the drive is a hot mess—characterized by illogical claims, inconsistencies, unrealistic expectations, blame-shifting, and misleading statements.

Detached Claims and Supermarket Reality

Merely 48 hours post-election, the president began his cost-reduction push with a poorly received statement: “Food prices are way down. All items is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” These words from the wealthy leader—who frequently mingles with fellow billionaires—revealed a lack of empathy for everyday citizens facing difficulties when visiting supermarkets. In effect, he dismissed their struggles as unimportant, implying they were mistaken about price levels.

This statement about declining prices was highly misleading and dishonest. In what way could every price be decreasing when his cherished tariffs were pushing up costs? Recent data show banana prices rose nearly 7% over the past year, beef prices went up 14.7%, and coffee prices surged by nearly 19%—in part due to punitive tariffs applied to Brazilian products. In the first three quarters, prices rose in the majority of food categories tracked by the government’s price index, such as meats, poultry, and fish (up 4.5%), non-alcoholic beverages (increasing nearly 3%), and produce (up 1.3%).

Contradictions and Inaccuracies in Financial Claims

In spite of the evidence, Trump persists in repeating his misleading narrative about lower costs. 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.” These statements contradict the reality that prices overall have unarguably risen after the previous administration. At present, inflation is at a 3% annual rate, which is half again as much than the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal. Adding to the inaccuracies, he claimed that gas prices had fallen to nearly $2 a gallon, even though official data indicate they are over three dollars.

Faced with actual conditions and lower approval ratings, advisers apparently cautioned that his “prices are down” rhetoric made him sound disconnected from typical Americans. A lot of citizens are angry about prices continuing to climb following assurances of decreases. As a result, advisers suggested one quick fix: reduce some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. This sensible idea contradicted Trump’s absurd assertion that new tariffs wouldn’t raise prices for US consumers.

Proposed Fixes and Their Potential Impact

As some tariffs reduced on several food items, Trump will likely claim that he has lowered costs once these products start declining in price. This would be similar to a firestarter boasting for extinguishing a blaze that he had started. In another instance, when addressing 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.” Such statements come naturally for a wealthy individual to make, but they ring hollow to countless households facing hardships—especially when millions face cuts to nutrition assistance or skyrocketing health premiums.

According to a recent poll conducted last fall, 74% of Americans believe economic conditions are fair or poor, while only 26% rate them good or excellent. A separate survey found that 61% of Americans feel Trump’s policies have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Economic Reality and Suggested Measures

The treasury secretary, the president’s chief financial officer, recently disputed claims of a golden age. He noted that far from booming, certain sectors 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 tens of thousands of positions this year. Pointing to this weakness, Bessent called on the central bank to reduce borrowing costs—a move that could help affordability.

Reacting to widespread concern about living costs, the president proposed a direct payment of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” excluding “high income people.” To numerous households in need, this sounds like a financial lifeline, but the prospects are dim that Congress—concerned about large shortfalls—will enact the proposal. This idea could increase federal spending, push up borrowing costs, and potentially drive prices higher by putting more money into consumers’ pockets.

Another supposed fix for cost issues centered on 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—often reducing them by just $100 or $200 per month. The downside is that these loans could significantly increase the total interest borrowers pay and slow their accumulation of equity.

Blaming the Previous Administration and Economic Prospects

In their affordability campaign, the administration have once more blamed the previous president for economic problems, such as increasing costs. Spokespeople stated they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up Biden’s inflation.” These are unfounded and inaccurate claims. Actually, Biden handed over a strong economy, with low price growth, solid expansion, and minimal joblessness. However, the current administration’s actions—particularly his tariffs—have created an difficult situation, driving costs higher and reducing economic output.

Per an economist, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, numerous regions are already in recession, with their conditions worsened by the administration’s trade policies. He worries that if key regions such as California and New York tumble into recession, the nation could face a broad economic slump. During recessions, people typically have reduced funds to spend, and inflation usually declines. Sadly, given the highly-touted cost initiative likely to do little to control costs, his primary method for achieving increased affordability might end up triggering an economic contraction—something that hard-pressed households really can’t afford.