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During last year's presidential campaign, Donald Trump wooed the electorate with pledges to lower prices immediately upon taking office. But, after he assumed office, there was minimal focus to the cost of living. All that changed after price-fatigued citizens expressed dissatisfaction at the polls. Shortly thereafter, the Trump administration launched a slapdash campaign to tackle affordability. Unfortunately, the drive has proven a hot mess—filled with absurdity, contradictions, unrealistic expectations, scapegoating, and misleading statements.

Out-of-Touch Claims and Supermarket Truth

Merely 48 hours post-election, Trump began his cost-reduction push with a poorly received remark: “Food prices are way down. All items is way down… So I don’t want to hear about the cost of living.” This comment 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. In effect, he ignored their concerns as unimportant, suggesting they had it wrong about price levels.

His assertion that everything was “way down” was highly misleading and dishonest. How could all costs be decreasing when his cherished tariffs were increasing prices? Official statistics indicate the cost of bananas increased nearly 7% in the last twelve months, the price of beef went up 14.7%, and the cost of coffee jumped by nearly 19%—partly because of punitive tariffs applied to Brazilian products. Between January and September, costs increased in the majority of main grocery groups monitored by the government’s price index, including meats, poultry, and fish (rising over 4%), non-alcoholic beverages (increasing nearly 3%), and produce (up 1.3%).

Contradictions and Falsehoods in Financial Statements

Despite these numbers, Trump continues to push 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 “living is cheaper under Trump than it was under his predecessor.” These statements contradict the fact that prices overall have clearly increased since Biden left office. Currently, 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, he boasted that gas prices had dropped to around two dollars, despite official data show they are over three dollars.

Confronted by reality and declining opinion polls, advisers apparently warned that his “prices are down” rhetoric portrayed him as dangerously out of touch from ordinary people. Many citizens are angry about prices continuing to climb after promises of decreases. In response, aides proposed one quick fix: reduce some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. This sensible idea contradicted Trump’s absurd assertion that additional taxes would not increase costs for American shoppers.

Proposed Fixes and Their Possible Effects

With some tariffs being rolled back on several food items, Trump will likely claim that he has lowered costs once these products begin to fall in price. That would be like an arsonist boasting for extinguishing a blaze that he ignited. In another instance, while speaking fast-food leaders, he stated that “this is the peak period of America” and told the audience that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” These comments are easy for a wealthy individual to make, but they ring hollow to countless households facing hardships—especially when many risk losing food stamps or skyrocketing health premiums.

Per a survey from October, 74% of Americans believe economic conditions are mediocre or bad, while only 26% rate them positive. A separate survey found that 61% of Americans say the administration’s actions have “worsened economic conditions” in the country.

Financial Truth and Proposed Steps

Scott Bessent, the president’s chief financial officer, lately contradicted claims of a golden age. He noted that instead of thriving, some parts of the US economy “are in recession.” The manufacturing sector—a priority for the administration—seems to have shrunk for eight months in a row and shed approximately tens of thousands of positions since January. Pointing to these challenges, Bessent called on the Federal Reserve to reduce borrowing costs—an action that could ease financial pressure.

Reacting to public dismay about living costs, Trump suggested a cash handout of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” not for “the wealthy.” To numerous struggling Americans, this sounds like manna from heaven, but it is unlikely that Congress—concerned about large shortfalls—will enact the proposal. The scheme would likely increase federal spending, increase borrowing costs, and potentially drive prices higher by injecting cash into the economy.

A further proposed solution for affordability centered on creating 50-year mortgages, with the notion that they could reduce monthly mortgage payments. However, the truth is that 50-year mortgages would do little to reduce installments—frequently reducing them by just $100 or $200 each month. The drawback is that these mortgages could significantly increase the overall cost borrowers pay and hinder building home value.

Blaming the Previous Administration and Economic Outlook

As part of their cost-cutting effort, the administration have again blamed Biden for economic problems, including rising prices. Spokespeople stated they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “addressing the prior administration’s price hikes.” These are absurd and untruthful claims. Actually, Biden handed over a strong economy, with inflation way down, economic growth strong, and minimal joblessness. However, the current administration’s actions—especially import taxes—have created an difficult situation, pushing up prices and slowing GDP growth.

According to an economist, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, numerous regions are already in recession, with their economies damaged by Trump’s tariffs. He fears that if key regions such as California and New York enter a downturn, the US could face a widespread recession. In downturns, consumers typically have reduced funds to spend, and price increases usually declines. Sadly, given the highly-touted affordability campaign probably ineffective to hold down prices, his primary method for achieving increased affordability might prove to be pushing the nation into recession—something that hard-pressed households cannot handle.