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During last year's race for the White House, Donald Trump courted the electorate with pledges to lower prices starting on day one. But, once he assumed office, there was precious little focus to the cost of living. This shifted after inflation-weary citizens expressed dissatisfaction at the polls. Within days, the Trump administration launched a slapdash campaign to address living costs. Unfortunately, the drive is a hot mess—characterized by illogical claims, inconsistencies, unrealistic expectations, scapegoating, and misleading statements.

Detached Claims and Supermarket Truth

Just two days post-election, the president kicked off his cost-reduction push with a poorly received statement: “Our groceries are way down. Everything is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” This comment from billionaire Trump—who frequently associates with fellow billionaires—demonstrated a lack of empathy for millions of Americans facing difficulties when visiting the grocery store. Essentially, he dismissed their concerns as trivial, implying they were mistaken about price levels.

His assertion about declining prices was highly misleading and inaccurate. How could all costs be decreasing when his cherished tariffs were pushing up prices? Official statistics indicate the cost of bananas rose nearly 7% over the past year, beef prices went up 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 the majority of main grocery groups 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 Statements

Despite these numbers, the president continues to push his big lie about affordability. Since election day, he has claimed there is “almost no price increases,” declared “prices are way down,” and asserted “living is cheaper under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” Such remarks contradict the fact that general costs have clearly increased since Biden left office. Currently, price growth is running at a 3% annual rate, that’s 50% higher than the central bank’s 2% goal. Adding to the inaccuracies, he claimed that fuel costs had dropped to nearly $2 a gallon, despite official data show they are $3.19.

Faced with reality and declining opinion polls, some Trump aides evidently cautioned that his “prices are down” rhetoric portrayed him as dangerously out of touch from typical Americans. A lot of citizens are frustrated about prices continuing to climb after promises of decreases. As a result, aides proposed a simple solution: roll back certain import taxes. The logical move clashed with the president’s unrealistic claim that additional taxes would not increase costs for American shoppers.

Proposed Solutions and Their Potential Effects

As some tariffs being rolled back on several food items, Trump will likely announce that he has lowered costs once these products start declining in price. That would be similar to a firestarter taking credit for extinguishing a blaze that he had started. On another occasion, while speaking fast-food leaders, Trump declared that “we are in the peak period of America” and told the audience that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” Such statements come naturally for a billionaire to make, but seem insincere to countless households facing hardships—especially when millions risk losing food stamps or rising insurance costs.

Per a recent poll conducted last fall, three-quarters of respondents think economic conditions are fair or poor, while just a quarter consider them good or excellent. A separate survey showed that 61% of Americans say Trump’s policies have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Financial Reality and Proposed Steps

The treasury secretary, Trump’s top economic official, lately disputed assertions of a prosperous era. He noted that far from booming, some parts of the US economy “are in recession.” The manufacturing sector—which Trump vowed to save—seems to have shrunk for eight months in a row and lost approximately tens of thousands of positions since January. Pointing to these challenges, Bessent called on the central bank to reduce borrowing costs—an action that could help affordability.

In response to public dismay about affordability, Trump suggested a direct payment of “a payout of at least $2,000 a person” not for “high income people.” For many households in need, it seems like manna from heaven, but it is unlikely that lawmakers—already alarmed about huge budget deficits—will approve such a plan. This idea would likely raise government expenditure, push up interest rates, and possibly drive prices higher by putting more money into the economy.

A further proposed solution for affordability involved introducing half-century home loans, with the notion that this would reduce monthly mortgage payments. But, the truth is that 50-year mortgages have minimal impact to lower monthly payments—frequently reducing them by a small amount each month. The downside is that these mortgages could more than double the overall cost homeowners pay and slow their accumulation of equity.

Blaming the Previous Administration and Economic Prospects

In their affordability campaign, Trump and his team have once more pointed fingers at Biden for financial challenges, such as rising prices. Spokespeople claimed they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “addressing Biden’s inflation.” This is unfounded and untruthful claims. Actually, Biden left a strong economy, with inflation way down, economic growth strong, and minimal joblessness. But, 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 conditions worsened by Trump’s tariffs. He fears that if large states like California and New York tumble into recession, the US could face a widespread recession. During recessions, consumers typically have reduced funds to spend, and inflation often falls. Sadly, with the highly-touted affordability campaign probably ineffective to control costs, his primary method for improving living standards might end up pushing the nation into recession—a scenario that hard-pressed households cannot handle.