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During last year's presidential campaign, the former president wooed the electorate with pledges to reduce prices immediately upon taking office. But, after he assumed office, there was precious little attention to affordability issues. This shifted following price-fatigued citizens delivered a rebuke at the ballot box. Within days, his team launched a hastily assembled effort to address living costs. Unfortunately, this initiative has proven a disorganized endeavor—characterized by absurdity, inconsistencies, magical thinking, blame-shifting, and misleading statements.

Out-of-Touch Assertions and Supermarket Truth

Merely 48 hours post-election, Trump kicked off his affordability drive with a poorly received remark: “Food prices 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 fellow billionaires—demonstrated utter contempt for everyday citizens facing difficulties every time they go supermarkets. Essentially, he ignored their struggles as unimportant, suggesting they had it wrong about price levels.

His assertion that everything was “way down” was absurdly obtuse and dishonest. How could every price be decreasing when the taxes he imposed were pushing up costs? Official statistics indicate the cost of bananas rose 6.9% in the last twelve months, beef prices went up 14.7%, and the cost of coffee surged 18.9%—in part because of import taxes applied to Brazilian products. Between January and September, prices rose in the majority of main grocery groups monitored by the Consumer Price Index, such as meats, poultry, and fish (rising over 4%), drinks (increasing nearly 3%), and fruits and vegetables (rising slightly).

Inconsistencies and Falsehoods in Financial Statements

In spite of these numbers, the president continues to push his big lie about lower costs. After the vote, he has claimed there is “almost no price increases,” insisted “prices are way down,” and asserted “living is cheaper under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” These statements contradict the fact that prices overall have unarguably risen since Biden left office. Currently, price growth is running at a 3% annual rate, which is half again as much than the central bank’s target of 2 percent. Adding to the inaccuracies, Trump claimed that fuel costs had fallen to nearly $2 a gallon, despite government figures show they are $3.19.

Faced with actual conditions and lower approval ratings, advisers evidently warned that his “prices are down” message portrayed him as dangerously out of touch from typical Americans. Many citizens are frustrated about rising costs following assurances of reductions. In response, advisers proposed one quick fix: roll back certain import taxes. The logical move contradicted the president’s unrealistic claim that additional taxes wouldn’t raise prices for American shoppers.

Suggested Fixes and Their Possible Impact

With certain taxes reduced on several food items, the administration will likely announce that he has cut prices once these products begin to fall in price. That would be like an arsonist taking credit for extinguishing a blaze that he had started. On another occasion, when addressing fast-food leaders, he stated that “we are in the peak period of America” and told the audience that “prices are coming down and all of that stuff.” These comments come naturally for a billionaire to make, but they ring hollow to millions of Americans facing hardships—particularly when millions face cuts to nutrition assistance or rising insurance costs.

According to a recent poll from October, 74% of Americans believe the state of the economy are fair or poor, while just a quarter rate them positive. Another poll found that 61% of Americans say Trump’s policies have “worsened economic conditions” in the country.

Economic Truth and Suggested Steps

The treasury secretary, Trump’s chief financial officer, lately disputed claims of a golden age. He stated that instead of thriving, certain sectors of the American economy “are in recession.” Industrial production—a priority for the administration—seems to have shrunk for multiple consecutive months and lost around 33,000 jobs since January. Citing this weakness, Bessent called on the Federal Reserve to reduce borrowing costs—an action that could ease financial pressure.

In response to public dismay about living costs, Trump proposed a cash handout of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” not for “high income people.” To numerous struggling Americans, this sounds like a financial lifeline, but it is unlikely that lawmakers—concerned about huge budget deficits—will enact the proposal. The scheme would likely raise government expenditure, push up interest rates, and possibly fuel inflation by injecting cash into the economy.

A further supposed fix for affordability centered on creating 50-year mortgages, based on the idea that this would lower housing costs. However, reality is that 50-year mortgages have minimal impact to lower monthly payments—often reducing them by just $100 or $200 each month. The drawback is that these mortgages could significantly increase the overall cost homeowners pay and slow their accumulation of equity.

Blaming the Past Government and Financial Outlook

In their cost-cutting effort, Trump and his team have once more blamed the previous president for financial challenges, including rising prices. Officials claimed they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up the prior administration’s price hikes.” These are unfounded and inaccurate allegations. In reality, Biden handed over a strong economy, with low price growth, economic growth strong, and minimal joblessness. However, Trump’s policies—particularly import taxes—have resulted in an economic mess, driving costs higher and slowing GDP growth.

According to an economist, chief economist at a research firm, numerous regions are already in recession, with their economies damaged by Trump’s tariffs. Zandi worries that if key regions like California and New York tumble into recession, the nation could face a widespread recession. During recessions, consumers generally possess less money to spend, and price increases often falls. Sadly, given Trump’s much-ballyhooed affordability campaign likely to do little to control costs, his most effective “tool” for achieving increased affordability might end up triggering an economic contraction—something that hard-pressed households cannot handle.