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Throughout last year's presidential campaign, Donald Trump courted voters with pledges to lower costs immediately upon taking office. But, after his inauguration, he seemed to pay precious little attention to the cost of living. All that changed after inflation-weary citizens delivered a rebuke at the ballot box. Shortly thereafter, his team initiated a hastily assembled effort to address affordability. Unfortunately, the drive has proven a disorganized endeavor—characterized by absurdity, contradictions, unrealistic expectations, blame-shifting, and misleading statements.

Detached Claims and Grocery Store Reality

Just two days after the election, Trump began his cost-reduction push with a poorly received remark: “Our groceries are way down. Everything is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” These words from the wealthy leader—who frequently associates with other ultra-rich individuals—demonstrated a lack of empathy for millions of Americans facing difficulties every time they go the grocery store. In effect, he ignored their concerns as trivial, implying they had it wrong about price levels.

His assertion that everything was “way down” was absurdly obtuse and dishonest. How could every price be falling when the taxes he imposed were pushing up prices? Official statistics indicate banana prices rose nearly 7% in the last twelve months, beef prices climbed 14.7%, and coffee prices jumped by nearly 19%—partly because of punitive tariffs applied to Brazilian products. In the first three quarters, prices rose in five of the six main grocery groups monitored by the Consumer Price Index, including animal proteins (up 4.5%), drinks (up 2.8%), and fruits and vegetables (rising slightly).

Inconsistencies and Falsehoods in Financial Claims

In spite of these numbers, the president continues to push his big lie about affordability. After the vote, he has claimed there is “almost no price increases,” insisted “costs have fallen significantly,” and argued “living is cheaper under Trump than it was under his predecessor.” Such remarks contradict the fact that prices overall have unarguably risen since Biden left office. At present, inflation is at a 3% annual rate, that’s half again as much than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent. Adding to the inaccuracies, Trump boasted that fuel costs had fallen to around two dollars, even though official data indicate they average over three dollars.

Faced with reality and declining opinion polls, advisers apparently warned that his “prices are down” message portrayed him as disconnected from typical Americans. Many voters are frustrated about prices continuing to climb after assurances of reductions. As a result, aides suggested one quick fix: reduce some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. The logical move contradicted Trump’s absurd assertion that additional taxes would not increase costs for US consumers.

Proposed Fixes and Their Potential Impact

As certain taxes being rolled back on coffee, beef, tomatoes, and bananas, the administration will likely announce that he has lowered costs once those foods begin to fall in price. That would be similar to a firestarter taking credit for putting out a fire that he ignited. In another instance, while speaking fast-food leaders, he declared that “this is the golden age of America” and told listeners that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” Such statements come naturally for a wealthy individual to make, but seem insincere to millions of Americans who are struggling—particularly when many face cuts to nutrition assistance or skyrocketing health premiums.

Per a recent poll from October, 74% of Americans think the state of the economy are mediocre or bad, while just a quarter consider them positive. Another poll showed that a majority of citizens feel the administration’s actions have “worsened economic conditions” in the country.

Economic Reality and Proposed Steps

The treasury secretary, the president’s top economic official, lately disputed assertions of a golden age. He noted that instead of thriving, certain sectors of the American economy “have contracted.” Industrial production—which Trump vowed to save—seems to have shrunk for eight months in a row and lost approximately 33,000 jobs since January. Citing this weakness, the secretary called on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates—an action that could help affordability.

In response to widespread concern about living costs, Trump suggested a cash handout of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” not for “high income people.” For many struggling Americans, it seems like a financial lifeline, but the prospects are dim that lawmakers—concerned about large shortfalls—will enact such a plan. The scheme would likely increase federal spending, increase interest rates, and potentially drive prices higher by injecting cash into consumers’ pockets.

A further supposed fix for affordability involved creating half-century home loans, based on the idea that they could lower housing costs. But, reality is that 50-year mortgages would do little to reduce installments—often reducing them by just $100 or $200 each month. The drawback is that these loans could more than double the total interest borrowers pay and hinder building home value.

Faulting the Previous Administration and Financial Prospects

In their affordability campaign, Trump and his team have again blamed Biden for financial challenges, such as rising prices. Spokespeople claimed they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up Biden’s inflation.” This is absurd and untruthful claims. Actually, Biden left a strong economy, with low price growth, economic growth strong, and unemployment low. But, Trump’s policies—particularly import taxes—have resulted in an economic mess, driving costs higher and reducing economic output.

Per Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, numerous regions are experiencing economic decline, with their conditions worsened by Trump’s tariffs. He worries that if key regions such as California and New York tumble into recession, the nation could slide into a broad economic slump. During recessions, consumers typically have less money to spend, and price increases usually declines. Unfortunately, with Trump’s much-ballyhooed cost initiative likely to do little to hold down prices, his most effective “tool” for achieving increased affordability might end up triggering an economic contraction—a scenario that struggling Americans really can’t afford.