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During last year's race for the White House, the former president courted voters with promises to lower costs starting on day one. But, after his inauguration, he seemed to pay precious little focus to the cost of living. All that changed after inflation-weary voters expressed dissatisfaction at the ballot box. Shortly thereafter, the Trump administration initiated a hastily assembled campaign to tackle affordability. Unfortunately, this initiative is a disorganized endeavor—filled with illogical claims, inconsistencies, magical thinking, blame-shifting, and misleading statements.

Out-of-Touch Claims and Grocery Store Reality

Just two days post-election, the president began his cost-reduction push with a disastrous statement: “Food prices are way down. All items is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” These words from billionaire Trump—often associates with fellow billionaires—revealed a lack of empathy for everyday citizens facing difficulties when visiting supermarkets. Essentially, he dismissed their concerns as trivial, implying they were mistaken about actual costs.

His assertion about declining prices proved highly misleading and inaccurate. How could every price be decreasing when his cherished tariffs were pushing up prices? Recent data show the cost of bananas increased 6.9% over the past year, beef prices climbed 14.7%, and coffee prices jumped 18.9%—in part because of import taxes on Brazil’s coffee and beef. Between January and September, costs increased in the majority of main grocery groups monitored by the Consumer Price Index, such as meats, poultry, and fish (up 4.5%), non-alcoholic beverages (up 2.8%), and fruits and vegetables (up 1.3%).

Inconsistencies and Inaccuracies in Economic Claims

Despite the evidence, Trump continues to push his misleading narrative about affordability. After the vote, he has stated there is “virtually no inflation,” insisted “costs have fallen significantly,” and argued “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” These statements ignore the fact that general costs have clearly increased since Biden left office. At present, inflation is at a 3 percent per year, that’s half again as much than the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal. In another falsehood, Trump boasted that fuel costs had fallen to nearly $2 a gallon, even though official data show they average $3.19.

Faced with reality and declining opinion polls, advisers apparently warned that his “costs are falling” message made him sound dangerously out of touch from ordinary people. A lot of citizens are angry about prices continuing to climb following promises of reductions. In response, advisers suggested a simple solution: roll back some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. The logical move clashed with the president’s unrealistic claim that additional taxes would not increase costs for US consumers.

Suggested Solutions and Their Possible Effects

As certain taxes reduced on several food items, Trump will probably announce that he has cut prices once those foods start declining in price. That would be like an arsonist boasting for extinguishing a blaze that he had started. In another instance, while speaking McDonald’s executives, Trump stated that “we are in the peak period of America” and assured the audience that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” These comments come naturally for a wealthy individual to make, but seem insincere to millions of Americans facing hardships—especially when millions risk cuts to nutrition assistance or rising insurance costs.

Per a survey conducted last fall, three-quarters of respondents believe the state of the economy are fair or poor, while just a quarter consider them positive. A separate survey showed that a majority of citizens feel the administration’s actions have “worsened economic conditions” in the country.

Financial Reality and Suggested Measures

The treasury secretary, the president’s top economic official, lately contradicted claims of a prosperous era. He stated that far from booming, certain sectors of the US economy “have contracted.” Industrial production—which Trump vowed to save—appears to have contracted for multiple consecutive months and lost approximately 33,000 jobs this year. Pointing to these challenges, the secretary called on the Federal Reserve to reduce borrowing costs—a move that could help affordability.

In response to public dismay about living costs, the president suggested a direct payment of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” not for “the wealthy.” For many struggling Americans, it seems like manna from heaven, but it is unlikely that lawmakers—already alarmed about huge budget deficits—will approve the proposal. This idea could increase federal spending, increase borrowing costs, and potentially fuel inflation by putting more money into the economy.

A further supposed fix for affordability involved introducing 50-year mortgages, with the notion that they could lower housing costs. But, reality is that such lengthy loans would do little to lower monthly payments—often reducing them by just $100 or $200 per month. The drawback is that these mortgages could significantly increase the total interest homeowners pay and slow their accumulation of equity.

Blaming the Previous Administration and Financial Outlook

In their affordability campaign, Trump and his team have once more blamed the previous president for financial challenges, such as rising prices. Spokespeople claimed they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “addressing the prior administration’s price hikes.” These are absurd and untruthful allegations. In reality, Biden left a strong economy, with low price growth, solid expansion, and unemployment low. However, Trump’s policies—particularly his tariffs—have resulted in an difficult situation, pushing up prices and slowing GDP growth.

According to Mark Zandi, chief economist at a research firm, 22 states are experiencing economic decline, with their conditions worsened by the administration’s trade policies. He worries that if key regions like California and New York tumble into recession, the US could slide into a broad economic slump. In downturns, people generally possess reduced funds to spend, and price increases often falls. Sadly, with the highly-touted affordability campaign likely to do little to hold down prices, his most effective “tool” for achieving increased affordability might end up triggering an economic contraction—something that hard-pressed households cannot handle.