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During last year's race for the White House, the former president wooed voters with pledges to lower costs immediately upon taking office. But, after he assumed office, there was precious little attention to the cost of living. All that changed following price-fatigued citizens expressed dissatisfaction at the ballot box. Shortly thereafter, the Trump administration initiated a hastily assembled campaign to address living costs. Regrettably, this initiative is a disorganized endeavor—filled with illogical claims, inconsistencies, magical thinking, blame-shifting, and misleading statements.

Detached Assertions and Supermarket Reality

Just two days after the election, the president began his affordability drive with a disastrous remark: “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—often associates with other ultra-rich individuals—revealed a lack of empathy for millions of Americans who struggle every time they go supermarkets. In effect, he ignored their concerns as trivial, implying they were mistaken about price levels.

His assertion that everything was “way down” was highly misleading and dishonest. How could every price be decreasing when his cherished tariffs were increasing costs? Recent data show banana prices increased 6.9% over the past year, beef prices went up almost 15%, and the cost of coffee surged by nearly 19%—partly because of punitive tariffs 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%), drinks (increasing nearly 3%), and fruits and vegetables (rising slightly).

Inconsistencies and Inaccuracies in Economic Statements

Despite these numbers, Trump persists in repeating his misleading narrative about lower costs. Since election day, he has claimed there is “virtually no inflation,” declared “costs have fallen significantly,” and argued “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under his predecessor.” Such remarks contradict the reality that general costs have clearly increased after the previous administration. At present, inflation is at a 3% annual rate, which is 50% higher than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent. In another falsehood, Trump boasted that fuel costs had fallen to nearly $2 a gallon, even though government figures show they average over three dollars.

Confronted by actual conditions and declining opinion polls, some Trump aides apparently warned that his “costs are falling” rhetoric made him sound dangerously out of touch from ordinary people. Many citizens are frustrated about prices continuing to climb following assurances of decreases. In response, advisers suggested a simple solution: reduce certain import taxes. This sensible idea clashed with Trump’s absurd assertion that new tariffs would not increase costs for American shoppers.

Suggested Fixes and Their Potential Impact

As certain taxes being rolled back on coffee, beef, tomatoes, and bananas, the administration will likely claim that he has cut prices once these products begin to fall in price. That would be like an arsonist boasting for extinguishing a fire that he had started. On another occasion, while speaking McDonald’s executives, he stated that “we are in the golden age of America” and assured listeners that “prices are coming down and all of that stuff.” Such statements are easy for a wealthy individual to make, but seem insincere to millions of Americans facing hardships—especially when many risk cuts to nutrition assistance or skyrocketing health premiums.

Per a recent poll conducted last fall, 74% of Americans believe the state of the economy are fair or poor, while only 26% consider them good or excellent. Another poll showed that a majority of citizens say Trump’s policies have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Economic Reality and Proposed Steps

Scott Bessent, the president’s chief financial officer, recently disputed assertions of a golden age. He stated that far from booming, some parts of the US economy “are in recession.” The manufacturing sector—a priority for the administration—seems to have shrunk for eight months in a row and shed approximately tens of thousands of positions this year. Pointing to these challenges, Bessent urged the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates—a move that could ease financial pressure.

Reacting to widespread concern about living costs, Trump suggested a cash handout 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 it is unlikely that lawmakers—already alarmed about large shortfalls—will enact such a plan. The scheme could raise government expenditure, push up interest rates, and possibly fuel inflation by injecting cash into the economy.

A further proposed solution for cost issues centered on creating 50-year mortgages, with the notion that they could reduce monthly mortgage payments. However, reality is that 50-year mortgages have minimal impact to reduce installments—often reducing them by just $100 or $200 per month. The drawback is that these loans could significantly increase the total interest homeowners pay and slow building home value.

Faulting the Past Government and Financial Outlook

As part of their cost-cutting effort, Trump and his team have again pointed fingers at Biden for financial challenges, such as increasing costs. Officials claimed they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up Biden’s inflation.” These are unfounded and inaccurate allegations. In reality, Biden left a robust economic situation, with inflation way down, economic growth strong, and unemployment low. However, the current administration’s actions—especially import taxes—have created an difficult situation, pushing up prices and reducing economic output.

Per Mark Zandi, lead analyst at a research firm, 22 states are experiencing economic decline, with their conditions worsened by Trump’s tariffs. He worries that if large states like California and New York tumble into recession, the US could face a broad economic slump. During recessions, consumers generally possess reduced funds to spend, and price increases usually declines. Sadly, with Trump’s much-ballyhooed cost initiative likely to do little to hold down prices, his most effective “tool” for achieving increased affordability might prove to be pushing the nation into recession—a scenario that struggling Americans really can’t afford.