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During the previous race for the White House, the former president courted voters with pledges to lower prices immediately upon taking office. But, after his inauguration, there was minimal attention to affordability issues. All that changed after price-fatigued voters expressed dissatisfaction at the ballot box. Shortly thereafter, his team initiated a slapdash effort to address affordability. Regrettably, the drive has proven a disorganized endeavor—characterized by absurdity, inconsistencies, unrealistic expectations, blame-shifting, and misleading statements.

Detached Assertions and Supermarket Truth

Merely 48 hours post-election, the president began his cost-reduction push with a disastrous statement: “Food prices are way down. All items is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” These words from billionaire Trump—who frequently associates with fellow billionaires—demonstrated utter contempt for everyday citizens who struggle every time they go the grocery store. In effect, he dismissed their concerns as trivial, implying they had it wrong about price levels.

This statement about declining prices was highly misleading and dishonest. In what way could every price be decreasing when his cherished tariffs were pushing up costs? Recent data indicate the cost of bananas rose nearly 7% in the last twelve months, beef prices went up 14.7%, and the cost of coffee jumped by nearly 19%—partly because of import taxes applied to Brazilian products. In the first three quarters, costs increased in five of the six food categories tracked by the Consumer Price Index, such as animal proteins (up 4.5%), non-alcoholic beverages (up 2.8%), and produce (rising slightly).

Contradictions and Falsehoods in Financial Statements

Despite these numbers, Trump persists in repeating his misleading narrative about lower costs. Since election day, he has stated there is “virtually no inflation,” declared “prices are way down,” and argued “living is cheaper under Trump than it was under his predecessor.” Such remarks ignore the fact that prices overall have unarguably risen after the previous administration. Currently, price growth is at a 3% annual rate, that’s 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 nearly $2 a gallon, despite official data show they are over three dollars.

Faced with actual conditions and lower approval ratings, some Trump aides apparently cautioned that his “prices are down” message portrayed him as dangerously out of touch from typical Americans. A lot of voters are angry about rising costs after promises of decreases. In response, aides suggested a simple solution: roll back some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. This sensible idea contradicted the president’s unrealistic claim that new tariffs wouldn’t raise prices for American shoppers.

Suggested Fixes and Their Potential Impact

As some tariffs reduced on several food items, the administration will likely announce that he has cut prices once those foods start declining in price. That would be like an arsonist boasting for putting out a blaze that he ignited. In another instance, when addressing McDonald’s executives, he declared that “we are in the peak period of America” and assured listeners that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” Such statements come naturally for a billionaire to make, but they ring hollow to countless households facing hardships—particularly when many face losing food stamps or rising insurance costs.

According to a survey from October, three-quarters of respondents think economic conditions are fair or poor, while only 26% rate them good or excellent. A separate survey found that a majority of citizens feel the administration’s actions have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Financial Truth and Suggested Measures

The treasury secretary, the president’s chief financial officer, lately contradicted assertions of a golden age. He noted that far from booming, certain sectors of the US economy “have contracted.” Industrial production—a priority for the administration—seems to have shrunk for multiple consecutive months and shed around 33,000 jobs this year. Citing this weakness, Bessent called on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates—an action that could help affordability.

Reacting to public dismay about living costs, Trump suggested a direct payment of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” excluding “high income people.” For many struggling Americans, this sounds like a financial lifeline, but the prospects are dim that Congress—concerned about large shortfalls—will approve the proposal. This idea would likely increase federal spending, increase interest rates, and possibly fuel inflation by injecting cash into the economy.

A further proposed solution for affordability involved introducing half-century home loans, with the notion that this would reduce monthly mortgage payments. However, reality is that such lengthy loans would do little to reduce installments—frequently reducing them by just $100 or $200 each month. The downside is that these loans could more than double the total interest homeowners pay and slow building home value.

Faulting the Previous Administration and Financial Outlook

As part of their cost-cutting effort, the administration have once more pointed fingers at Biden for economic problems, such as rising prices. Spokespeople stated they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up the prior administration’s price hikes.” These are unfounded and inaccurate claims. In reality, Biden handed over a strong economy, with low price growth, economic growth strong, and minimal joblessness. But, Trump’s policies—particularly import taxes—have resulted in an difficult situation, pushing up prices and reducing economic output.

Per Mark Zandi, lead analyst at a research firm, 22 states are already in recession, with their economies damaged by Trump’s tariffs. He worries that if key regions like California and New York enter a downturn, the nation could slide into a broad economic slump. During recessions, people typically have less money to spend, and price increases usually declines. Sadly, given the highly-touted affordability campaign probably ineffective to control costs, his primary method for improving living standards might end up triggering an economic contraction—a scenario that hard-pressed households cannot handle.