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Throughout last year's presidential campaign, Donald Trump courted voters with promises to lower costs immediately upon taking office. But, once his inauguration, he seemed to pay precious little focus to affordability issues. All that changed following inflation-weary voters expressed dissatisfaction at the polls. Shortly thereafter, his team initiated a slapdash campaign to address living costs. Unfortunately, the drive has proven a hot mess—filled with absurdity, contradictions, unrealistic expectations, blame-shifting, and misleading statements.

Out-of-Touch Claims and Supermarket Truth

Merely 48 hours after the election, Trump kicked off his affordability drive with a disastrous remark: “Food prices are way down. Everything is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” These words from billionaire Trump—often mingles with fellow billionaires—demonstrated a lack of empathy for everyday citizens who struggle every time they go the grocery store. Essentially, he dismissed their concerns as trivial, implying they were mistaken about actual costs.

His assertion about declining prices proved absurdly obtuse and inaccurate. In what way could all costs be decreasing when his cherished tariffs were pushing up costs? Recent data indicate the cost of bananas increased 6.9% in the last twelve months, the price of beef climbed 14.7%, and coffee prices surged 18.9%—partly due to punitive tariffs applied to Brazilian products. In the first three quarters, prices rose in the majority of main grocery groups tracked by the government’s price index, including animal proteins (rising over 4%), drinks (up 2.8%), and produce (rising slightly).

Inconsistencies and Falsehoods in Financial Claims

In spite of these numbers, Trump continues to push his big lie about affordability. After the vote, he has claimed there is “virtually no inflation,” declared “costs have fallen significantly,” and argued “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under his predecessor.” These statements contradict the reality that prices overall have clearly increased after the previous administration. Currently, price growth is running at a 3% annual rate, that’s half again as much than the central bank’s target of 2 percent. Adding to the inaccuracies, Trump claimed that fuel costs had fallen to nearly $2 a gallon, even though official data show they average over three dollars.

Confronted by reality and declining opinion polls, some Trump aides evidently cautioned that his “costs are falling” rhetoric made him sound disconnected from ordinary people. Many voters are angry about prices continuing to climb after promises of reductions. In response, advisers suggested one quick fix: reduce certain import taxes. This sensible idea clashed with the president’s unrealistic claim that additional taxes would not increase costs for US consumers.

Proposed Solutions and Their Potential Effects

As certain taxes being rolled back on several food items, the administration will likely claim that he has cut prices once these products begin to fall in price. This would be like an arsonist taking credit for putting out a fire that he ignited. On another occasion, while speaking fast-food leaders, he stated that “this is the peak period of America” and told listeners that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” Such statements come naturally for a wealthy individual to make, but they ring hollow to countless households who are struggling—particularly when many face losing food stamps or rising insurance costs.

According to a recent poll from October, three-quarters of respondents believe the state of the economy are fair or poor, while just a quarter rate them good or excellent. Another poll found that a majority of citizens say Trump’s policies have “worsened economic conditions” in the country.

Financial Truth and Suggested Steps

The treasury secretary, Trump’s top economic official, recently disputed assertions of a prosperous era. He noted that far from booming, some parts of the American economy “have contracted.” Industrial production—which Trump vowed to save—seems to have shrunk for multiple consecutive months and lost around 33,000 jobs this year. Citing these challenges, the secretary urged the Federal Reserve to reduce borrowing costs—a move that could ease financial pressure.

In response to public dismay about living costs, the president proposed a cash handout of “a payout of at least $2,000 a person” not for “the wealthy.” For many struggling Americans, it seems like a financial lifeline, but the prospects are dim that Congress—concerned about huge budget deficits—will approve such a plan. This idea could raise government expenditure, push up interest rates, and possibly fuel inflation by injecting cash into consumers’ pockets.

A further supposed fix for affordability involved introducing 50-year mortgages, with the notion that this would reduce monthly mortgage payments. However, the truth is that 50-year mortgages would do little to reduce installments—often cutting them by just $100 or $200 each month. The downside is that these mortgages could more than double the total interest homeowners pay and slow their accumulation of equity.

Blaming the Past Government and Financial Prospects

In their affordability campaign, the administration have once more pointed fingers at the previous president for economic problems, such as increasing costs. Spokespeople stated they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up the prior administration’s price hikes.” These are absurd and untruthful claims. In reality, the former president handed over a strong economy, with low price growth, economic growth strong, and unemployment low. But, Trump’s policies—particularly his tariffs—have created an difficult situation, pushing up prices and slowing GDP growth.

Per an economist, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, 22 states are already in recession, with their conditions worsened by the administration’s trade policies. He worries that if large states like California and New York enter a downturn, the US could slide into a broad economic slump. During recessions, consumers generally possess reduced funds to spend, and inflation usually declines. Unfortunately, given the highly-touted cost initiative probably ineffective to control costs, his most effective “tool” for achieving increased affordability might end up triggering an economic contraction—something that struggling Americans really can’t afford.