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During last year's race for the White House, Donald Trump wooed the electorate with pledges to reduce prices immediately upon taking office. But, after his inauguration, he seemed to pay precious little attention to affordability issues. All that changed following price-fatigued citizens delivered a rebuke at the polls. Within days, his team launched a slapdash campaign to tackle affordability. Unfortunately, the drive has proven a disorganized endeavor—filled with illogical claims, inconsistencies, unrealistic expectations, scapegoating, and misleading statements.

Detached Assertions and Grocery Store Truth

Just two days post-election, the president began 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 utter contempt for everyday citizens who struggle when visiting supermarkets. In effect, he ignored their struggles as unimportant, implying they had it wrong about price levels.

This statement about declining prices proved absurdly obtuse and inaccurate. How could all costs be falling when his cherished tariffs were increasing prices? Recent data show banana prices increased nearly 7% in the last twelve months, the price of beef went up almost 15%, and coffee prices jumped 18.9%—in part due to import taxes on Brazil’s coffee and beef. Between January and September, costs increased in five of the six main grocery groups tracked by the Consumer Price Index, including animal proteins (rising over 4%), drinks (up 2.8%), and fruits and vegetables (rising slightly).

Contradictions and Inaccuracies in Financial Claims

In spite of these numbers, the president persists in repeating his big lie about lower costs. Since election day, he has claimed 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 reality that prices overall have unarguably risen after the previous administration. At present, inflation is at a 3% annual rate, which is 50% higher than the central bank’s 2% goal. In another falsehood, Trump boasted that gas prices had dropped to nearly $2 a gallon, despite official data indicate they are $3.19.

Confronted by actual conditions and declining opinion polls, advisers apparently warned that his “prices are down” message portrayed him as dangerously out of touch from ordinary people. Many voters are frustrated about rising costs after promises of reductions. In response, aides proposed a simple solution: 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.

Suggested Solutions and Their Potential Effects

As some tariffs reduced on coffee, beef, tomatoes, and bananas, Trump will probably announce that he has lowered costs once those foods begin to fall in price. This would be similar to a firestarter boasting for extinguishing a fire that he ignited. In another instance, while speaking McDonald’s executives, he stated that “we are in the golden age of America” and assured the audience that “prices are coming down and all of that stuff.” These comments come naturally for a wealthy individual to make, but seem insincere to millions of Americans facing hardships—particularly when many risk cuts to nutrition assistance or rising insurance costs.

Per a survey from October, 74% of Americans think the state of the economy are fair or poor, while only 26% rate them good or excellent. Another poll showed that a majority of citizens feel the administration’s actions have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Economic Reality 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—appears to have contracted for eight months in a row and shed approximately tens of thousands of positions since January. Pointing to this weakness, the secretary called on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates—a move that could ease financial pressure.

In response to widespread concern about affordability, Trump suggested a cash handout of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” excluding “high income people.” To numerous households in need, this sounds like manna from heaven, but it is unlikely that Congress—already alarmed about large shortfalls—will enact the proposal. The scheme could increase federal spending, increase borrowing costs, and potentially fuel inflation by putting more money into consumers’ pockets.

A further supposed fix for affordability involved introducing half-century home loans, based on the idea that they could reduce monthly mortgage payments. However, the truth is that such lengthy loans would do little to lower monthly payments—frequently reducing them by a small amount each month. The drawback is that these mortgages could significantly increase the overall cost borrowers pay and hinder building home value.

Blaming the Past Government and Economic Prospects

In their affordability campaign, Trump and his team have again pointed fingers at the previous president for economic problems, such as rising prices. Spokespeople claimed they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “addressing the prior administration’s price hikes.” This is absurd and inaccurate claims. In reality, the former president handed over a strong economy, with inflation way down, economic growth strong, and unemployment low. However, Trump’s policies—particularly his tariffs—have created an difficult situation, driving costs higher and slowing GDP growth.

Per Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, 22 states are experiencing economic decline, with their conditions worsened by the administration’s trade policies. He fears that if large states like California and New York tumble into recession, the US could slide into a broad economic slump. In downturns, people generally possess less money to spend, and inflation often falls. Unfortunately, with Trump’s much-ballyhooed cost initiative likely to do little to control costs, his primary method for achieving increased affordability might prove to be triggering an economic contraction—something that struggling Americans really can’t afford.