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During last year's presidential campaign, the former president wooed voters with pledges to reduce prices starting on day one. But, after he assumed office, there was precious little attention to affordability issues. This shifted after inflation-weary citizens delivered a rebuke at the polls. Within days, the Trump administration initiated a hastily assembled effort to tackle living costs. Regrettably, this initiative has proven a disorganized endeavor—filled with absurdity, contradictions, magical thinking, blame-shifting, and Trumpian dishonesty.

Detached Assertions and Grocery Store Reality

Just two days after the election, Trump kicked off his cost-reduction push with a disastrous statement: “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—who frequently mingles with fellow billionaires—revealed utter contempt for millions of Americans facing difficulties every time they go the grocery store. Essentially, he ignored their struggles as trivial, suggesting they were mistaken about price levels.

This statement that everything was “way down” was absurdly obtuse and dishonest. In what way could every price be falling when the taxes he imposed were pushing up prices? Official statistics show banana prices increased 6.9% in the last twelve months, beef prices climbed 14.7%, and the cost of coffee surged by nearly 19%—partly because of punitive tariffs applied to Brazilian products. In the first three quarters, costs increased in five of the six food categories tracked by the government’s price index, such as meats, poultry, and fish (rising over 4%), drinks (up 2.8%), and fruits and vegetables (up 1.3%).

Contradictions and Falsehoods in Financial Claims

In spite of these numbers, Trump continues to push his misleading narrative about lower costs. After the vote, he has stated there is “virtually no inflation,” declared “prices are way down,” and asserted “living is cheaper under Trump than it was under his predecessor.” Such remarks contradict the fact that general costs have clearly increased after the previous administration. Currently, inflation is at a 3 percent per year, which is half again as much than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent. Adding to the inaccuracies, Trump boasted that gas prices had fallen to nearly $2 a gallon, even though government figures show they average $3.19.

Faced with actual conditions and lower approval ratings, advisers apparently cautioned that his “prices are down” message portrayed him as disconnected from typical Americans. Many voters are angry about prices continuing to climb following assurances of decreases. In response, advisers proposed a simple solution: roll back some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. The logical move contradicted the president’s unrealistic claim that additional taxes wouldn’t raise prices for American shoppers.

Suggested Fixes and Their Potential Effects

As some tariffs reduced on several food items, the administration will probably announce that he has lowered costs once those foods start declining in price. That would be like an arsonist taking credit for putting out a blaze that he had started. In another instance, when addressing McDonald’s executives, he stated that “this is the golden age of America” and told listeners that “prices are coming down and all of that stuff.” Such statements are easy for a billionaire to make, but they ring hollow to countless households who are struggling—particularly when millions face cuts to nutrition assistance or rising insurance costs.

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

Financial Truth and Proposed Measures

The treasury secretary, Trump’s top economic official, recently disputed assertions of a prosperous era. He stated that far from booming, certain sectors of the US economy “are in recession.” The manufacturing sector—which Trump vowed to save—appears to have contracted for multiple consecutive months and lost around 33,000 jobs this year. Citing this weakness, the secretary urged the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates—a move that could help affordability.

In response to widespread concern about affordability, the president proposed a direct payment of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” not for “the wealthy.” For many struggling Americans, this sounds like manna from heaven, but the prospects are dim that lawmakers—concerned about large shortfalls—will enact the proposal. This idea could raise government expenditure, push up interest rates, and possibly drive prices higher by putting more money into consumers’ pockets.

Another supposed fix for affordability centered on introducing half-century home loans, based on the idea that they could reduce monthly mortgage payments. But, the truth is that such lengthy loans would do little to lower monthly payments—often reducing them by a small amount each month. The drawback is that these mortgages could more than double the overall cost homeowners pay and hinder their accumulation of equity.

Blaming the Past Government and Financial Prospects

As part of their cost-cutting effort, Trump and his team have again blamed Biden for financial challenges, such as rising prices. Officials stated they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “addressing Biden’s inflation.” These are unfounded and untruthful allegations. In reality, Biden handed over a robust economic situation, with low price growth, economic growth strong, and unemployment low. However, the current administration’s actions—especially his tariffs—have resulted in an economic mess, pushing up prices and slowing GDP growth.

Per an economist, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, 22 states are experiencing economic decline, with their economies damaged by Trump’s tariffs. Zandi fears that if key regions such as major economies tumble into recession, the US could slide into a broad economic slump. In downturns, consumers typically have reduced funds to spend, and inflation usually declines. Sadly, given the highly-touted cost initiative likely to do little to control costs, his most effective “tool” for improving living standards might prove to be triggering an economic contraction—a scenario that hard-pressed households really can’t afford.