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During last year's presidential campaign, Donald Trump courted the electorate with pledges to lower costs starting on day one. However, after his inauguration, he seemed to pay precious little attention to the cost of living. This shifted after inflation-weary voters delivered a rebuke at the polls. Within days, the Trump administration initiated a slapdash effort to address living costs. Unfortunately, this initiative is a disorganized endeavor—filled with absurdity, inconsistencies, magical thinking, scapegoating, and misleading statements.

Detached Claims and Supermarket Reality

Merely 48 hours after the election, the president began his cost-reduction push with a poorly received remark: “Food prices are way down. All items is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” This comment from the wealthy leader—often mingles with other ultra-rich individuals—demonstrated utter contempt for everyday citizens facing difficulties when visiting supermarkets. In effect, he dismissed their struggles as unimportant, implying they were mistaken about price levels.

This statement about declining prices proved absurdly obtuse and dishonest. In what way could every price be decreasing when his cherished tariffs were increasing prices? Recent data indicate banana prices rose nearly 7% in the last twelve months, the price of beef went up almost 15%, and the cost of coffee surged by nearly 19%—in part due to import taxes on Brazil’s coffee and beef. In the first three quarters, prices rose in five of the six main grocery groups monitored by the government’s price index, including meats, poultry, and fish (up 4.5%), non-alcoholic beverages (up 2.8%), and fruits and vegetables (rising slightly).

Inconsistencies and Inaccuracies in Economic Claims

Despite these numbers, Trump persists in repeating his big lie about lower costs. Since election day, he has claimed there is “almost no price increases,” declared “costs have fallen significantly,” and asserted “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” Such remarks contradict the fact that prices overall have clearly increased after the previous administration. Currently, price growth is running at a 3 percent per year, which is 50% higher than the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal. Adding to the inaccuracies, he claimed that gas prices had dropped to around two dollars, even though official data show they are over three dollars.

Confronted by reality and lower approval ratings, advisers apparently cautioned that his “prices are down” message portrayed him as disconnected from ordinary people. A lot of citizens are angry about rising costs following promises of decreases. As a result, advisers suggested one quick fix: reduce certain import taxes. This sensible idea contradicted the president’s unrealistic claim that new tariffs wouldn’t raise prices for American shoppers.

Proposed Fixes and Their Potential Effects

With certain taxes being rolled back on coffee, beef, tomatoes, and bananas, the administration will likely claim that he has cut prices once those foods start declining in price. This would be like an arsonist taking credit for extinguishing a blaze that he ignited. In another instance, while speaking McDonald’s executives, he declared that “this is the peak period of America” and told 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 skyrocketing health premiums.

According to a recent poll conducted last fall, three-quarters of respondents think economic conditions are fair or poor, while only 26% rate them positive. A separate survey showed that 61% of Americans say Trump’s policies have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Economic Truth and Suggested Steps

The treasury secretary, Trump’s top economic official, lately contradicted claims of a prosperous era. He stated that far from booming, certain sectors of the American economy “have contracted.” The manufacturing sector—which Trump vowed to save—appears to have contracted for eight months in a row and lost approximately 33,000 jobs since January. Pointing to these challenges, Bessent urged the Federal Reserve to reduce borrowing costs—an action that could help affordability.

In response to public dismay about living costs, the president proposed a direct payment of “a payout of at least $2,000 a person” not for “the wealthy.” To numerous households in need, it seems like a financial lifeline, but it is unlikely that Congress—already alarmed about huge budget deficits—will enact the proposal. The scheme would likely raise government expenditure, push up borrowing costs, and possibly fuel inflation by putting more money into the economy.

Another proposed solution for affordability centered on introducing 50-year mortgages, based on the idea that they could reduce monthly mortgage payments. But, reality is that such lengthy loans would do little to reduce installments—frequently reducing them by just $100 or $200 per month. The downside is that these mortgages could more than double the total interest homeowners pay and hinder their accumulation of equity.

Blaming the Previous Administration and Economic Outlook

As part of their affordability campaign, Trump and his team have again blamed Biden for financial challenges, including rising prices. Officials claimed they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “addressing the prior administration’s price hikes.” This is unfounded and untruthful allegations. Actually, the former president handed over a strong economy, with low price growth, economic growth strong, and unemployment low. But, Trump’s policies—especially his tariffs—have created an difficult situation, pushing up prices and slowing GDP growth.

Per Mark Zandi, chief economist at a research firm, numerous regions are already in recession, with their conditions worsened by Trump’s tariffs. He worries that if large states like major economies tumble into recession, the nation could face a broad economic slump. During recessions, consumers typically have less money to spend, and price increases usually declines. Unfortunately, given the highly-touted cost initiative probably ineffective to hold down prices, his primary method for achieving increased affordability might prove to be pushing the nation into recession—something that struggling Americans cannot handle.