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During last year's race for the White House, the former president courted the electorate with promises to reduce costs immediately upon taking office. However, once his inauguration, he seemed to pay minimal attention to affordability issues. All that changed following price-fatigued citizens delivered a rebuke at the polls. Within days, his team initiated a hastily assembled effort to address living costs. Regrettably, this initiative is a hot mess—filled with illogical claims, contradictions, unrealistic expectations, scapegoating, and misleading statements.

Detached Assertions and Supermarket Truth

Merely 48 hours after the election, Trump began his cost-reduction push with a disastrous statement: “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—who frequently associates with other ultra-rich individuals—revealed a lack of empathy for everyday citizens who struggle every time they go the grocery store. In effect, he dismissed their concerns as unimportant, suggesting they were mistaken about price levels.

His assertion that everything was “way down” proved absurdly obtuse and dishonest. In what way could every price be falling when the taxes he imposed were increasing costs? Official statistics show the cost of bananas rose 6.9% over the past year, beef prices went up almost 15%, and the cost of coffee surged by nearly 19%—partly because of punitive tariffs on Brazil’s coffee and beef. In the first three quarters, costs increased in the majority of main grocery groups monitored by the Consumer Price Index, including animal proteins (up 4.5%), drinks (up 2.8%), and fruits and vegetables (rising slightly).

Inconsistencies and Falsehoods in Economic Statements

Despite these numbers, Trump continues to push his misleading narrative about lower costs. After the vote, he has claimed there is “almost no price increases,” declared “costs have fallen significantly,” and argued “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” These statements contradict the fact that general costs have clearly increased after the previous administration. At present, inflation is at a 3% annual rate, which is 50% higher than the central bank’s target of 2 percent. In another falsehood, Trump claimed that fuel costs had dropped to around two dollars, despite official data show they are $3.19.

Confronted by actual conditions and declining opinion polls, some Trump aides evidently warned that his “prices are down” message made him sound dangerously out of touch from ordinary people. Many voters are angry about rising costs after assurances of reductions. As a result, aides proposed a simple solution: roll back some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. The logical move contradicted Trump’s absurd assertion that additional taxes would not increase costs for American shoppers.

Proposed Fixes and Their Possible Effects

With some tariffs reduced on several food items, Trump will probably announce that he has lowered costs once these products begin to fall in price. That would be like an arsonist boasting for putting out a blaze that he ignited. On another occasion, while speaking fast-food leaders, he declared that “this is the peak period of America” and told listeners that “prices are coming down and all of that stuff.” Such statements come naturally for a billionaire to make, but they ring hollow to millions of Americans facing hardships—particularly when millions face cuts to nutrition assistance or skyrocketing health premiums.

According to a recent poll from October, 74% of Americans think the state of the economy are fair or poor, while only 26% consider them good or excellent. Another poll found that 61% of Americans feel Trump’s policies have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Economic Reality and Proposed Steps

Scott Bessent, Trump’s top economic official, recently contradicted claims of a golden age. He stated that instead of thriving, some parts of the American economy “are in recession.” The manufacturing sector—a priority for the administration—appears to have contracted for eight months in a row and shed around 33,000 jobs this year. Citing these challenges, the secretary called on the central bank to cut interest rates—an action that could help affordability.

Reacting to public dismay about living costs, the president proposed a cash handout of “a payout of at least $2,000 a person” not for “high income people.” For many struggling Americans, this sounds like manna from heaven, but the prospects are dim that Congress—concerned about large shortfalls—will approve the proposal. The scheme could raise government expenditure, push up borrowing costs, and potentially drive prices higher by putting more money into consumers’ pockets.

Another proposed solution for cost issues involved introducing half-century home loans, with the notion that this would lower housing costs. However, reality is that 50-year mortgages have minimal impact to reduce installments—frequently reducing them by just $100 or $200 per month. The downside is that these loans could more than double the total interest borrowers pay and hinder their accumulation of equity.

Faulting the Previous Administration and Economic Prospects

As part of their cost-cutting effort, the administration have again blamed the previous president for economic problems, such as increasing costs. Officials stated they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up the prior administration’s price hikes.” This is unfounded and untruthful claims. In reality, the former president left a strong economy, with inflation way down, solid expansion, and unemployment low. However, the current administration’s actions—especially his tariffs—have created an difficult situation, driving costs higher and reducing economic output.

Per an economist, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, numerous regions are already in recession, with their conditions worsened by the administration’s trade policies. He worries that if large states such as major economies tumble into recession, the US could face a widespread recession. During recessions, people generally possess less money to spend, and inflation often falls. Sadly, with the highly-touted affordability campaign probably ineffective to hold down prices, his most effective “tool” for improving living standards might prove to be triggering an economic contraction—something that struggling Americans really can’t afford.