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Throughout last year's race for the White House, Donald Trump courted the electorate with promises to lower prices immediately upon taking office. However, after his inauguration, he seemed to pay minimal focus to the cost of living. This shifted following inflation-weary citizens expressed dissatisfaction at the polls. Shortly thereafter, his team initiated a slapdash campaign to address affordability. Unfortunately, the drive is a disorganized endeavor—characterized by illogical claims, inconsistencies, magical thinking, scapegoating, and misleading statements.

Out-of-Touch Assertions and Grocery Store Truth

Just two days after the election, Trump 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 the cost of living.” These words from billionaire Trump—often mingles with fellow billionaires—revealed a lack of empathy for millions of Americans who struggle every time they go the grocery store. In effect, he ignored their struggles as unimportant, suggesting they were mistaken about price levels.

His assertion that everything was “way down” proved absurdly obtuse and dishonest. In what way could all costs be falling when his cherished tariffs were pushing up costs? Recent data show the cost of bananas rose nearly 7% over the past year, the price of beef climbed 14.7%, and coffee prices jumped 18.9%—in part due to import taxes on Brazil’s coffee and beef. Between January and September, prices rose in five of the six main grocery groups monitored by the Consumer Price Index, including meats, poultry, and fish (up 4.5%), non-alcoholic beverages (up 2.8%), and produce (up 1.3%).

Inconsistencies and Falsehoods in Economic Statements

Despite these numbers, the president persists in repeating his big lie about lower costs. After the vote, he has stated there is “virtually no inflation,” declared “prices are way down,” and asserted “living is cheaper under Trump than it was under his predecessor.” These statements contradict the fact that prices overall have clearly increased since Biden left office. At present, price growth is at a 3% annual rate, that’s 50% higher than the central bank’s 2% goal. In another falsehood, he boasted that fuel costs had dropped to nearly $2 a gallon, despite government figures show they are over three dollars.

Confronted by reality and declining opinion polls, advisers apparently cautioned that his “costs are falling” message made him sound dangerously out of touch from typical Americans. Many citizens are angry about prices continuing to climb following assurances of reductions. As a result, advisers 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.

Suggested Solutions and Their Possible Impact

With certain taxes reduced on several food items, Trump will probably claim that he has lowered costs once those foods start declining in price. That would be like an arsonist boasting for putting out a blaze that he ignited. On another occasion, while speaking McDonald’s executives, Trump declared that “we are in the golden age of America” and told the audience that “prices are coming down and all of that stuff.” These comments are easy for a wealthy individual to make, but they ring hollow to countless households who are struggling—particularly when many risk losing food stamps or skyrocketing health premiums.

Per a survey conducted last fall, 74% of Americans think the state of the economy are fair or poor, while only 26% rate them positive. Another poll showed that a majority of citizens say the administration’s actions have “worsened economic conditions” in the country.

Economic Truth and Suggested Steps

The treasury secretary, the president’s chief financial officer, lately contradicted claims of a golden age. He noted that far from booming, certain sectors of the American economy “have contracted.” Industrial production—a priority for the administration—appears to have contracted for multiple consecutive months and shed around tens of thousands of positions this year. Citing this weakness, the secretary urged the central bank to reduce borrowing costs—a move that could help affordability.

Reacting to public dismay about affordability, the president suggested a direct payment of “a payout of at least $2,000 a person” not for “high income people.” To numerous households in need, this sounds like a financial lifeline, but the prospects are dim that lawmakers—concerned about huge budget deficits—will approve such a plan. The scheme could raise government expenditure, push up interest rates, and possibly fuel inflation by injecting cash into consumers’ pockets.

Another supposed fix for affordability involved creating 50-year mortgages, based on the idea that this would reduce monthly mortgage payments. But, reality is that such lengthy loans would do little to lower monthly payments—frequently reducing them by just $100 or $200 each month. The downside is that these loans could significantly increase the overall cost borrowers pay and slow their accumulation of equity.

Faulting the Past Government and Economic Outlook

As part of their cost-cutting effort, the administration have again pointed fingers at the previous president for financial challenges, such as rising prices. Spokespeople stated they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “addressing Biden’s inflation.” This is absurd and untruthful claims. In reality, Biden left a strong economy, with inflation way down, economic growth strong, and minimal joblessness. However, the current administration’s actions—especially import taxes—have created an economic mess, pushing up prices and reducing economic output.

According to Mark Zandi, chief economist at a research firm, numerous regions are already in recession, with their conditions worsened by Trump’s tariffs. He fears that if key regions like California and New York tumble into recession, the US could slide into a widespread recession. During recessions, people generally possess reduced funds to spend, and price increases usually declines. Sadly, given Trump’s much-ballyhooed affordability campaign probably ineffective to hold down prices, his most effective “tool” for achieving increased affordability might prove to be triggering an economic contraction—something that struggling Americans cannot handle.