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Throughout the previous race for the White House, Donald Trump wooed the electorate with promises to reduce prices immediately upon taking office. However, once his inauguration, he seemed to pay precious little focus to affordability issues. All that changed after price-fatigued citizens expressed dissatisfaction at the polls. Shortly thereafter, the Trump administration launched a slapdash effort to tackle affordability. Regrettably, this initiative is a disorganized endeavor—filled with absurdity, inconsistencies, magical thinking, blame-shifting, and misleading statements.

Out-of-Touch Claims and Supermarket Reality

Merely 48 hours post-election, the president began his affordability drive with a disastrous remark: “Our groceries are way down. Everything is way down… So I don’t want to hear about the cost of living.” This comment from the wealthy leader—who frequently associates with fellow billionaires—demonstrated utter contempt for millions of Americans facing difficulties when visiting supermarkets. Essentially, he dismissed their struggles as unimportant, suggesting they had it wrong about actual costs.

His assertion that everything was “way down” was highly misleading and dishonest. In what way could all costs be decreasing when the taxes he imposed were increasing prices? Official statistics show the cost of bananas rose nearly 7% in the last twelve months, beef prices climbed 14.7%, and coffee prices jumped by nearly 19%—in part due to punitive tariffs applied to Brazilian products. Between January and September, prices rose in five of the six main grocery groups monitored by the Consumer Price Index, such as animal proteins (up 4.5%), non-alcoholic beverages (up 2.8%), and produce (rising slightly).

Inconsistencies and Inaccuracies in Financial Claims

In spite of the evidence, Trump continues to push his misleading narrative about affordability. After the vote, he has stated there is “almost no price increases,” insisted “prices are way down,” 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 running at a 3% annual rate, that’s 50% higher than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent. Adding to the inaccuracies, Trump boasted that gas prices had fallen to around two dollars, despite government figures show they are over three dollars.

Confronted by reality and lower approval ratings, advisers evidently warned that his “prices are down” rhetoric made him sound dangerously out of touch from typical Americans. Many voters are angry about rising costs after assurances of decreases. In response, aides suggested one quick fix: roll back some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. The logical move clashed with the president’s unrealistic claim that additional taxes wouldn’t raise prices for American shoppers.

Proposed Fixes and Their Possible Effects

With certain taxes reduced on several food items, the administration will probably announce that he has cut prices once these products begin to fall in price. This would be like an arsonist boasting for putting out a fire that he ignited. On another occasion, when addressing McDonald’s executives, Trump declared that “we are in the peak period of America” and told the audience that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” These comments are easy for a billionaire to make, but seem insincere to millions of Americans facing hardships—particularly when millions risk cuts to nutrition assistance or skyrocketing health premiums.

Per a recent poll conducted last fall, 74% of Americans believe economic conditions are mediocre or bad, while only 26% rate them good or excellent. Another poll showed that a majority of citizens feel Trump’s policies have “worsened economic conditions” in the country.

Economic Truth and Proposed Steps

The treasury secretary, the president’s chief financial officer, lately contradicted claims of a prosperous era. He noted that instead of thriving, certain sectors of the American economy “are in recession.” Industrial production—which Trump vowed to save—seems to have shrunk for eight months in a row and shed approximately 33,000 jobs since January. Pointing to these challenges, Bessent called on the central bank to reduce borrowing costs—a move that could help affordability.

In response to public dismay about affordability, Trump suggested a cash handout of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” not for “high income people.” For many households in need, this sounds like a financial lifeline, but it is unlikely that Congress—concerned about huge budget deficits—will enact such a plan. This idea would likely raise government expenditure, increase borrowing costs, and potentially fuel inflation by injecting cash into the economy.

Another supposed fix for cost issues involved creating 50-year mortgages, based on the idea that this would lower housing costs. But, reality is that such lengthy loans would do little to reduce installments—often reducing them by a small amount each month. The downside is that these mortgages could significantly increase the overall cost borrowers pay and hinder their accumulation of equity.

Faulting the Previous Administration and Financial Prospects

In their affordability campaign, Trump and his team have again pointed fingers at Biden for economic problems, including increasing costs. Spokespeople claimed they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up the prior administration’s price hikes.” This is absurd and untruthful claims. In reality, the former president left a robust economic situation, with inflation way down, economic growth strong, and minimal joblessness. However, Trump’s policies—especially his tariffs—have created an economic mess, pushing up prices and slowing GDP growth.

Per an economist, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, 22 states are already in recession, with their conditions worsened by Trump’s tariffs. Zandi worries that if large states like major economies enter a downturn, the US could slide into a widespread recession. During recessions, people generally possess less money to spend, and price increases usually declines. Unfortunately, with Trump’s much-ballyhooed affordability campaign probably ineffective to hold down prices, his primary method for achieving increased affordability might end up pushing the nation into recession—a scenario that hard-pressed households cannot handle.