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During last year's presidential campaign, Donald Trump courted the electorate with pledges to reduce prices starting on day one. However, once his inauguration, he seemed to pay minimal focus to the cost of living. This shifted after inflation-weary voters delivered a rebuke at the ballot box. Within days, the Trump administration launched a hastily assembled effort to tackle living costs. Unfortunately, the drive is a disorganized endeavor—filled with illogical claims, contradictions, magical thinking, scapegoating, and Trumpian dishonesty.

Out-of-Touch Assertions and Supermarket Truth

Just two days post-election, Trump began his affordability drive with a disastrous statement: “Food prices are way down. All items is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” This comment from billionaire Trump—often mingles with other ultra-rich individuals—revealed utter contempt for everyday citizens facing difficulties every time they go supermarkets. Essentially, he dismissed their concerns as unimportant, suggesting they had it wrong about price levels.

His assertion that everything was “way down” was highly misleading and inaccurate. In what way could every price be decreasing when his cherished tariffs were increasing prices? Recent data show banana prices increased 6.9% over the past year, beef prices went up 14.7%, and the cost of coffee surged by nearly 19%—partly due to punitive tariffs on Brazil’s coffee and beef. Between January and September, costs increased in the majority of food categories monitored by the government’s price index, including animal proteins (up 4.5%), non-alcoholic beverages (increasing nearly 3%), and produce (rising slightly).

Contradictions and Falsehoods in Economic Claims

In spite of these numbers, the president persists in repeating his big lie about affordability. Since election day, he has stated there is “almost no price increases,” insisted “costs have fallen significantly,” and asserted “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” These statements contradict the reality that general costs have unarguably risen since Biden left office. At present, inflation is at a 3% annual rate, which is half again as much than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent. Adding to the inaccuracies, Trump boasted that gas prices had fallen to nearly $2 a gallon, even though official data indicate they are over three dollars.

Faced with reality and declining opinion polls, some Trump aides apparently cautioned that his “prices are down” message made him sound dangerously out of touch from ordinary people. Many voters are frustrated about rising costs following promises of decreases. In response, aides suggested a simple solution: roll back some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. This sensible idea clashed with the president’s unrealistic claim that new tariffs wouldn’t raise prices for American shoppers.

Proposed Fixes and Their Possible Impact

With certain taxes reduced on coffee, beef, tomatoes, and bananas, Trump will likely claim that he has lowered costs once these products begin to fall in price. This would be like an arsonist taking credit for putting out a blaze that he ignited. On another occasion, when addressing fast-food leaders, he declared that “we are in the golden age of America” and told the audience that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” These comments come naturally for a wealthy individual to make, but seem insincere to millions of Americans who are struggling—particularly when millions risk losing food stamps or skyrocketing health premiums.

Per a recent poll from October, 74% of Americans believe the state of the economy are mediocre or bad, while just a quarter consider them good or excellent. A separate survey found that a majority of citizens feel Trump’s policies have “worsened economic conditions” in the country.

Economic Reality and Proposed Steps

Scott Bessent, Trump’s chief financial officer, recently contradicted assertions of a golden age. He noted that instead of thriving, certain sectors of the American economy “have contracted.” 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. Citing these challenges, Bessent urged the central bank to reduce borrowing costs—an action that could help affordability.

In response to widespread concern about affordability, the president proposed a direct payment of “a payout of at least $2,000 a person” excluding “the wealthy.” To numerous struggling Americans, this sounds like a financial lifeline, but the prospects are dim that Congress—concerned about large shortfalls—will approve such a plan. The scheme would likely raise government expenditure, push up borrowing costs, and possibly drive prices higher by injecting cash into consumers’ pockets.

Another supposed fix for cost issues centered on creating 50-year mortgages, based on the idea that this would lower housing costs. However, the truth is that 50-year mortgages have minimal impact to lower monthly payments—frequently cutting them by just $100 or $200 per month. The drawback is that these loans could more than double the overall cost homeowners pay and hinder their accumulation of equity.

Blaming the Previous Administration and Economic Prospects

In their cost-cutting effort, Trump and his team have again blamed the previous president for economic problems, including rising prices. Spokespeople claimed they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “addressing the prior administration’s price hikes.” This is absurd and untruthful allegations. In reality, Biden handed over a strong economy, with inflation way down, economic growth strong, and unemployment low. However, the current administration’s actions—particularly his tariffs—have created an economic mess, driving costs higher and slowing GDP growth.

Per an economist, lead analyst at Moody’s Analytics, 22 states are already in recession, with their conditions worsened by the administration’s trade policies. He fears that if large states like major economies enter a downturn, the nation could face a widespread recession. In downturns, people generally possess less money to spend, and inflation often falls. Sadly, with the highly-touted cost initiative probably ineffective to hold down prices, his primary method for improving living standards might prove to be pushing the nation into recession—something that hard-pressed households cannot handle.