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During last year's race for the White House, Donald Trump courted voters with promises to lower costs starting on day one. But, once he assumed office, there was minimal attention to the cost of living. This shifted after price-fatigued voters delivered a rebuke at the ballot box. Within days, the Trump administration launched a hastily assembled campaign to address affordability. Unfortunately, the drive is a disorganized endeavor—filled with illogical claims, inconsistencies, unrealistic expectations, blame-shifting, and Trumpian dishonesty.

Detached Assertions and Grocery Store Truth

Just two days post-election, the president began his cost-reduction push 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 billionaire Trump—often mingles with fellow billionaires—revealed utter contempt for everyday citizens who struggle every time they go the grocery store. In effect, he dismissed their struggles as unimportant, implying they were mistaken about actual costs.

His assertion about declining prices proved highly misleading and dishonest. How could all costs be falling when his cherished tariffs were pushing up costs? Recent data show the cost of bananas increased nearly 7% over the past year, the price of beef went up almost 15%, and coffee prices jumped 18.9%—in part because of import taxes applied to Brazilian products. Between January and September, costs increased in the majority of main grocery groups monitored by the government’s price index, including meats, poultry, and fish (up 4.5%), drinks (up 2.8%), and produce (rising slightly).

Contradictions and Falsehoods in Financial Statements

Despite the evidence, Trump continues to push his big lie about affordability. Since election day, he has stated there is “virtually no inflation,” declared “costs have fallen significantly,” and asserted “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” These statements ignore the reality that prices overall have unarguably risen after the previous administration. Currently, inflation is running at a 3% annual rate, that’s 50% higher than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent. In another falsehood, Trump claimed that gas prices had dropped to nearly $2 a gallon, despite government figures indicate they are $3.19.

Faced with actual conditions and lower approval ratings, advisers evidently warned that his “costs are falling” rhetoric portrayed him as disconnected from typical Americans. A lot of voters are angry about prices continuing to climb following assurances of reductions. In response, advisers suggested one quick fix: reduce some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. The logical move contradicted 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 likely announce that he has lowered costs once these products start declining in price. This would be like an arsonist taking credit for extinguishing a fire that he had started. In another instance, when addressing McDonald’s executives, Trump declared that “this is the peak period of America” and assured the audience that “prices are coming down and all of that stuff.” These comments are easy for a billionaire to make, but they ring hollow to countless households facing hardships—especially when many risk cuts to nutrition assistance or rising insurance costs.

According to a recent poll from October, 74% of Americans believe economic conditions are mediocre or bad, while only 26% rate them good or excellent. A separate survey found that 61% of Americans say Trump’s policies have “worsened economic conditions” in the country.

Financial Truth and Proposed Measures

Scott Bessent, the president’s chief financial officer, lately contradicted assertions of a prosperous era. He stated that far from booming, certain sectors of the American economy “are in recession.” The manufacturing sector—a priority for the administration—seems to have shrunk for eight months in a row and shed approximately tens of thousands of positions 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 widespread concern about living costs, Trump proposed a direct payment of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” excluding “the wealthy.” To numerous struggling Americans, this sounds like a financial lifeline, but it is unlikely that Congress—concerned about large shortfalls—will approve such a plan. The scheme would likely raise government expenditure, increase borrowing costs, and potentially fuel inflation by putting more money into consumers’ pockets.

A further supposed fix for affordability centered on creating half-century home loans, based on the idea that this would reduce monthly mortgage payments. But, reality is that 50-year mortgages have minimal impact to lower monthly payments—often reducing them by a small amount per month. The drawback is that these loans could more than double the overall cost homeowners pay and slow their accumulation of equity.

Faulting the Previous Administration and Economic Outlook

As part of their cost-cutting effort, Trump and his team have once more pointed fingers at the previous president for economic problems, such as increasing costs. Officials stated they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up Biden’s inflation.” This is unfounded and untruthful claims. In reality, Biden handed over a robust economic situation, with low price growth, economic growth strong, and minimal joblessness. However, Trump’s policies—especially 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, numerous regions are already in recession, with their economies damaged by Trump’s tariffs. Zandi worries that if large states such as California and New York tumble into recession, the nation could face a broad economic slump. During recessions, people generally possess less money to spend, and price increases often falls. Unfortunately, with Trump’s much-ballyhooed affordability campaign probably ineffective to control costs, his primary method for achieving increased affordability might end up pushing the nation into recession—something that struggling Americans cannot handle.