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Throughout last year's race for the White House, Donald Trump courted voters with promises to reduce costs starting on day one. However, after he assumed office, there was precious little focus to the cost of living. All that changed following price-fatigued voters expressed dissatisfaction at the ballot box. Within days, the Trump administration launched a slapdash effort to address living costs. Unfortunately, this initiative is a hot mess—filled with illogical claims, inconsistencies, unrealistic expectations, blame-shifting, and Trumpian dishonesty.

Detached Claims and Grocery Store Reality

Just two days after the election, the president 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 the wealthy leader—often associates with other ultra-rich individuals—demonstrated a lack of empathy for millions of Americans facing difficulties when visiting the grocery store. In effect, he ignored their concerns as trivial, implying they had it wrong about actual costs.

This statement about declining prices proved highly misleading and dishonest. How could every price be falling when the taxes he imposed were pushing up costs? Official statistics show the cost of bananas increased nearly 7% over the past year, the price of beef went up almost 15%, and the cost of coffee surged 18.9%—in part because of punitive tariffs applied to Brazilian products. Between January and September, costs increased in the majority of food categories tracked by the Consumer Price Index, such as meats, poultry, and fish (rising over 4%), non-alcoholic beverages (increasing nearly 3%), and produce (up 1.3%).

Contradictions and Falsehoods in Economic Statements

Despite the evidence, 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 argued “living is cheaper under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” Such remarks ignore the reality that prices overall have clearly increased after the previous administration. Currently, inflation is running at a 3% annual rate, which is 50% higher than the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal. In another falsehood, Trump claimed that fuel costs had dropped to around two dollars, even though official data show they average $3.19.

Confronted by reality and lower approval ratings, advisers apparently cautioned that his “prices are down” rhetoric made him sound dangerously out of touch from ordinary people. Many voters are angry about rising costs following promises of reductions. As a result, 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 would not increase costs for US consumers.

Proposed Fixes and Their Possible Effects

With certain taxes being rolled back on several food items, the administration will likely announce that he has lowered costs once those foods begin to fall in price. This would be similar to a firestarter boasting for putting out a fire that he ignited. On another occasion, while speaking McDonald’s executives, he declared that “this is the peak period of America” and told listeners that “prices are coming down and all of that stuff.” These comments are easy for a billionaire to make, but they ring hollow to millions of Americans facing hardships—particularly when millions face losing food stamps or skyrocketing health premiums.

Per a recent poll conducted last fall, three-quarters of respondents believe economic conditions are mediocre or bad, while only 26% consider them positive. Another poll showed that 61% of Americans say the administration’s actions have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Financial Reality and Proposed Measures

Scott Bessent, the president’s chief financial officer, recently disputed assertions of a golden age. He noted that far from booming, some parts of the US economy “have contracted.” Industrial production—a priority for the administration—appears to have contracted for multiple consecutive months and shed approximately tens of thousands of positions since January. Pointing to this weakness, Bessent urged the central bank to reduce borrowing costs—an action that could ease financial pressure.

Reacting to public dismay about affordability, Trump suggested a direct payment of “a payout of at least $2,000 a person” excluding “high income people.” To numerous households in need, it seems like a financial lifeline, but it is unlikely that Congress—already alarmed about huge budget deficits—will approve the proposal. The scheme could raise government expenditure, push up interest rates, and possibly drive prices higher by injecting cash into the economy.

A further proposed solution for cost issues involved introducing 50-year mortgages, based on the idea that they could reduce monthly mortgage payments. But, 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 downside is that these mortgages could significantly increase the total interest borrowers pay and slow their accumulation of equity.

Blaming the Previous Administration and Economic Outlook

As part of their cost-cutting effort, Trump and his team have once more blamed the previous president for financial challenges, such as increasing costs. Spokespeople claimed they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up Biden’s inflation.” This is unfounded and untruthful allegations. Actually, Biden left a robust economic situation, with low price growth, solid expansion, and unemployment low. But, Trump’s policies—especially import taxes—have created an economic mess, driving costs higher and reducing economic output.

Per Mark Zandi, lead analyst at a research firm, numerous regions are already in recession, with their conditions worsened by Trump’s tariffs. He fears that if key regions like California and New York enter a downturn, the nation could face a broad economic slump. In downturns, people generally possess reduced funds to spend, and inflation often falls. Unfortunately, with the highly-touted affordability campaign likely to do little to hold down prices, his primary method for achieving increased affordability might prove to be triggering an economic contraction—something that hard-pressed households really can’t afford.