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Throughout last year's race for the White House, the former president courted the electorate with pledges to reduce prices starting on day one. However, once his inauguration, he seemed to pay minimal focus to affordability issues. This shifted following price-fatigued voters delivered a rebuke at the ballot box. Shortly thereafter, his team launched a hastily assembled campaign to address living costs. Unfortunately, this initiative is a disorganized endeavor—filled with absurdity, inconsistencies, unrealistic expectations, scapegoating, and misleading statements.

Out-of-Touch Assertions and Grocery Store Truth

Merely 48 hours post-election, Trump began his affordability drive with a poorly received remark: “Our groceries are way down. Everything is way down… So I don’t want to hear about the cost of living.” This comment from billionaire Trump—often mingles with other ultra-rich individuals—revealed a lack of empathy for millions of Americans facing difficulties every time they go the grocery store. In effect, he ignored their struggles as trivial, suggesting they had it wrong about actual costs.

This statement that everything was “way down” was highly misleading and inaccurate. How could every price be falling when the taxes he imposed were increasing prices? Recent data show banana prices rose 6.9% in the last twelve months, beef prices climbed almost 15%, and coffee prices surged by nearly 19%—in part because of punitive tariffs applied to Brazilian products. Between January and September, costs increased in five of the six food categories monitored by the Consumer Price Index, such as animal proteins (up 4.5%), drinks (increasing nearly 3%), and produce (up 1.3%).

Contradictions and Falsehoods in Economic Claims

Despite these numbers, the president persists in repeating his big lie about lower costs. Since election day, he has stated there is “almost no price increases,” insisted “prices are way down,” and argued “living is cheaper under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” These statements contradict the reality that general costs have clearly increased since Biden left office. At present, price growth is at a 3% annual rate, that’s 50% higher than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent. In another falsehood, Trump boasted that gas prices had fallen to around two dollars, despite government figures indicate they average over three dollars.

Confronted by reality and lower approval ratings, some Trump aides apparently cautioned that his “prices are down” message portrayed him as disconnected from ordinary people. Many citizens are frustrated about rising costs following promises of reductions. As a result, aides proposed a simple solution: reduce some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. The logical move clashed with Trump’s absurd assertion that additional taxes wouldn’t raise prices for American shoppers.

Suggested Fixes and Their Potential Effects

As certain taxes reduced on several food items, Trump will probably 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 had started. On another occasion, while speaking fast-food leaders, Trump stated that “this is the peak period of America” and assured the audience that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” These comments come naturally for a billionaire to make, but they ring hollow to millions of Americans facing hardships—especially when millions face losing food stamps or skyrocketing health premiums.

Per a survey from October, three-quarters of respondents think economic conditions are mediocre or bad, while only 26% rate them positive. A separate survey found that a majority of citizens say Trump’s policies have “worsened economic conditions” in the country.

Economic Reality and Suggested Measures

Scott Bessent, Trump’s top economic official, lately disputed assertions of a golden age. He noted that far from booming, certain sectors of the American economy “are in recession.” Industrial production—which Trump vowed to save—seems to have shrunk for multiple consecutive months and lost around 33,000 jobs this year. Pointing to these challenges, Bessent urged the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates—a move that could help affordability.

Reacting to widespread concern about living costs, the president proposed a cash handout of “a payout of at least $2,000 a person” excluding “the wealthy.” To numerous struggling Americans, it seems like a financial lifeline, but it is unlikely that lawmakers—concerned about huge budget deficits—will approve the proposal. The scheme would likely raise government expenditure, increase interest rates, and potentially drive prices higher by putting more money into consumers’ pockets.

Another proposed solution for affordability centered on creating half-century home loans, based on the idea that this would reduce monthly mortgage payments. However, reality is that such lengthy loans would do little to lower monthly payments—often reducing them by just $100 or $200 per month. The drawback is that these loans could more than double the total interest borrowers pay and slow their accumulation of equity.

Blaming the Previous Administration and Economic Prospects

As part of their affordability campaign, Trump and his team have once more blamed Biden for financial challenges, including increasing costs. Spokespeople claimed they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up the prior administration’s price hikes.” These are absurd and untruthful allegations. In reality, the former president handed over a robust economic situation, with inflation way down, solid expansion, and minimal joblessness. However, the current administration’s actions—especially his tariffs—have resulted in an difficult situation, driving costs higher and slowing GDP growth.

Per Mark Zandi, chief economist at a research firm, numerous regions are already in recession, with their conditions worsened by the administration’s trade policies. He fears that if large states such as major economies tumble into recession, the US could face a widespread recession. During recessions, consumers generally possess reduced funds to spend, and price increases often falls. Unfortunately, with Trump’s much-ballyhooed affordability campaign likely to do little to control costs, his most effective “tool” for improving living standards might prove to be triggering an economic contraction—something that hard-pressed households cannot handle.