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During last year's presidential campaign, Donald Trump wooed voters with promises to lower costs starting on day one. But, once his inauguration, he seemed to pay precious little attention to the cost of living. All that changed following inflation-weary voters delivered a rebuke at the ballot box. Within days, the Trump administration launched a hastily assembled effort to address living costs. Unfortunately, this initiative has proven a disorganized endeavor—filled with illogical claims, inconsistencies, unrealistic expectations, scapegoating, and misleading statements.

Detached Claims and Supermarket Truth

Just two days post-election, the president kicked off his affordability drive with a disastrous statement: “Food prices are way down. Everything is way down… So I don’t want to hear about the cost of living.” These words from the wealthy leader—often mingles with fellow billionaires—demonstrated a lack of empathy for millions of Americans who struggle when visiting the grocery store. Essentially, he dismissed their struggles as trivial, implying they were mistaken about price levels.

This statement about declining prices proved absurdly obtuse and inaccurate. How could all costs be decreasing when his cherished tariffs were pushing up costs? Recent data indicate banana prices increased nearly 7% in the last twelve months, beef prices climbed 14.7%, and the cost of coffee surged 18.9%—partly because of punitive tariffs applied to Brazilian products. In the first three quarters, costs increased in the majority of food categories tracked by the Consumer Price Index, including meats, poultry, and fish (rising over 4%), non-alcoholic beverages (increasing nearly 3%), and fruits and vegetables (up 1.3%).

Inconsistencies and Falsehoods in Economic Statements

In spite of these numbers, the president continues to push his misleading narrative about lower costs. Since election day, he has claimed there is “almost no price increases,” declared “costs have fallen significantly,” and asserted “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under his predecessor.” These statements ignore the fact that general costs have unarguably risen after the previous administration. At present, price growth is at a 3 percent per year, which is 50% higher than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent. Adding to the inaccuracies, Trump claimed that gas prices had dropped to nearly $2 a gallon, despite official data indicate they average over three dollars.

Confronted by reality and declining opinion polls, some Trump aides apparently warned that his “costs are falling” message made him sound disconnected from ordinary people. Many voters are angry about prices continuing to climb following promises of decreases. In response, aides suggested one quick fix: roll back some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. The logical move clashed with the president’s unrealistic claim that new tariffs wouldn’t raise prices for US consumers.

Proposed Solutions and Their Possible Effects

With some tariffs being rolled back on several food items, Trump will likely announce that he has cut prices once those foods start declining in price. That would be similar to a firestarter boasting for putting out a blaze that he ignited. In another instance, when addressing McDonald’s executives, he stated that “this is the golden age of America” and assured listeners that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” These comments come naturally for a billionaire 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 survey from October, three-quarters of respondents believe economic conditions are mediocre or bad, while only 26% rate them positive. Another poll showed that 61% of Americans feel Trump’s policies have “worsened economic conditions” in the country.

Economic Reality and Suggested Measures

The treasury secretary, the president’s top economic official, lately disputed claims of a prosperous era. He noted that instead of thriving, certain sectors of the American economy “are in recession.” The manufacturing sector—a priority for the administration—seems to have shrunk for multiple consecutive months and shed approximately tens of thousands of positions this year. Pointing to this weakness, Bessent called on the Federal Reserve to reduce borrowing costs—a move that could help affordability.

In response to public dismay about affordability, the president suggested a cash handout of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” not for “the wealthy.” For many struggling Americans, it seems like manna from heaven, but it is unlikely that Congress—already alarmed about huge budget deficits—will approve such a plan. The scheme would likely increase federal spending, push up interest rates, and potentially drive prices higher by injecting cash into the economy.

A further supposed fix for cost issues involved creating half-century home loans, based on the idea that this would reduce monthly mortgage payments. But, reality is that 50-year mortgages would do little to lower monthly payments—often reducing them by just $100 or $200 per month. The downside is that these loans could more than double the total interest homeowners pay and hinder their accumulation of equity.

Blaming the Past Government and Economic Outlook

As part of their affordability campaign, the administration have again blamed the previous president for financial challenges, including increasing costs. Spokespeople claimed they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up Biden’s inflation.” These are absurd and inaccurate allegations. Actually, the former president left a strong economy, with inflation way down, economic growth strong, and unemployment low. But, Trump’s policies—particularly import taxes—have created an economic mess, driving costs higher and reducing economic output.

According to an economist, lead analyst at Moody’s Analytics, numerous regions are already in recession, with their conditions worsened by Trump’s tariffs. Zandi worries that if key regions such as California and New York enter a downturn, the US could slide into a widespread recession. During recessions, consumers typically have less money to spend, and inflation usually declines. Unfortunately, with Trump’s much-ballyhooed affordability campaign likely to do little to control costs, his primary method for improving living standards might prove to be pushing the nation into recession—a scenario that hard-pressed households cannot handle.