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During last year's race for the White House, Donald Trump wooed the electorate with pledges to lower costs starting on day one. However, after he assumed office, he seemed to pay minimal focus to affordability issues. All that changed following inflation-weary citizens expressed dissatisfaction at the polls. Shortly thereafter, the Trump administration launched a hastily assembled effort to tackle affordability. Unfortunately, this initiative has proven a hot mess—filled with illogical claims, contradictions, magical thinking, scapegoating, and misleading statements.

Detached Claims and Grocery Store Truth

Just two days after the election, the president kicked off his cost-reduction push with a poorly received remark: “Food prices are way down. Everything is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” This comment from billionaire Trump—who frequently mingles with fellow billionaires—demonstrated a lack of empathy for everyday citizens who struggle every time they go supermarkets. Essentially, he dismissed their concerns as trivial, suggesting they were mistaken about price levels.

His assertion about declining prices proved highly misleading and inaccurate. How could every price be falling when the taxes he imposed were pushing up prices? Official statistics indicate the cost of bananas rose 6.9% in the last twelve months, beef prices went up almost 15%, and the cost of coffee surged by nearly 19%—in part because of punitive tariffs applied to Brazilian products. In the first three quarters, costs increased in the majority of main grocery groups tracked by the Consumer Price Index, including animal proteins (up 4.5%), non-alcoholic beverages (increasing nearly 3%), and fruits and vegetables (rising slightly).

Contradictions and Falsehoods in Financial Statements

Despite the evidence, the president persists in repeating his misleading narrative about affordability. Since election day, he has claimed there is “virtually no inflation,” insisted “costs have fallen significantly,” and asserted “living is cheaper under Trump than it was under his predecessor.” Such remarks contradict the reality that prices overall have clearly increased after the previous administration. Currently, price growth is at a 3 percent per year, which is half again as much than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent. In another falsehood, he claimed that fuel costs had dropped to around two dollars, despite official data show they are over three dollars.

Confronted by actual conditions and declining opinion polls, advisers apparently warned that his “prices are down” rhetoric portrayed him as dangerously out of touch from ordinary people. Many voters are frustrated about rising costs following assurances of decreases. As a result, aides proposed one quick fix: reduce certain import taxes. The logical move clashed with Trump’s absurd assertion that new tariffs would not increase costs for US consumers.

Suggested Solutions and Their Possible Impact

As some tariffs being rolled back on several food items, the administration will probably claim that he has lowered costs once those foods start declining in price. This would be similar to a firestarter boasting for putting out a fire that he had started. On another occasion, while speaking fast-food leaders, he declared that “this is the peak period of America” and assured the audience that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” Such statements are easy for a wealthy individual to make, but they ring hollow to countless households who are struggling—particularly when many risk cuts to nutrition assistance or skyrocketing health premiums.

Per a recent poll conducted last fall, 74% of Americans think the state of the economy are fair or poor, while just a quarter rate them positive. A separate survey found that 61% of Americans feel the administration’s actions have “worsened economic conditions” in the country.

Financial Truth and Proposed Measures

The treasury secretary, Trump’s chief financial officer, lately contradicted claims of a prosperous era. He noted that far from booming, certain sectors of the US economy “are in recession.” Industrial production—which Trump vowed to save—seems to have shrunk for multiple consecutive months and lost around tens of thousands of positions since January. Pointing to these challenges, Bessent urged the central bank to reduce borrowing costs—an action that could ease financial pressure.

In response to widespread concern about affordability, the president proposed a direct payment of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” not for “the wealthy.” For many struggling Americans, this sounds like manna from heaven, but it is unlikely that lawmakers—concerned about huge budget deficits—will enact the proposal. This idea could increase federal spending, push up interest rates, and possibly drive prices higher by putting more money into consumers’ pockets.

Another supposed fix for affordability involved introducing half-century home loans, based on the idea that they could reduce monthly mortgage payments. However, reality is that 50-year mortgages would do little to lower monthly payments—frequently cutting them by a small amount each month. The downside is that these mortgages could more than double the total interest homeowners pay and hinder their accumulation of equity.

Blaming the Past Government and Economic Prospects

In their affordability campaign, the administration have again pointed fingers at the previous president for financial challenges, including increasing costs. Spokespeople stated they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up the prior administration’s price hikes.” These are unfounded and untruthful claims. In reality, Biden handed over a robust economic situation, with low price growth, economic growth strong, and unemployment low. However, Trump’s policies—particularly his tariffs—have created an economic mess, driving costs higher and slowing GDP growth.

According to an economist, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, numerous regions are experiencing economic decline, with their conditions worsened by the administration’s trade policies. He worries that if key regions such as major economies enter a downturn, the nation could face a widespread recession. In downturns, consumers typically have less money to spend, and inflation often falls. Sadly, with the highly-touted affordability campaign likely to do little to control costs, his most effective “tool” for achieving increased affordability might prove to be triggering an economic contraction—something that struggling Americans really can’t afford.