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Throughout the previous presidential campaign, Donald Trump wooed the electorate with pledges to lower costs immediately upon taking office. However, after his inauguration, there was minimal focus to the cost of living. All that changed after inflation-weary citizens delivered a rebuke at the ballot box. Within days, his team initiated a hastily assembled effort to address affordability. Regrettably, the drive is a hot mess—filled with absurdity, contradictions, magical thinking, scapegoating, and misleading statements.

Out-of-Touch Claims and Supermarket Truth

Merely 48 hours after the election, Trump kicked off his cost-reduction push with a poorly received statement: “Food prices are way down. All items is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” This comment from billionaire Trump—often mingles with fellow billionaires—revealed utter contempt for millions of Americans facing difficulties when visiting supermarkets. In effect, he dismissed their concerns as unimportant, suggesting they were mistaken about price levels.

This statement about declining prices proved highly misleading and inaccurate. How could all costs be falling when the taxes he imposed were increasing prices? Recent data show the cost of bananas increased nearly 7% in the last twelve months, beef prices went up almost 15%, and coffee prices surged by nearly 19%—in part due to punitive tariffs on Brazil’s coffee and beef. In the first three quarters, costs increased in the majority of food categories tracked by the government’s price index, such as animal proteins (rising over 4%), drinks (increasing nearly 3%), and fruits and vegetables (up 1.3%).

Contradictions and Inaccuracies in Economic Statements

In spite of the evidence, the president persists in repeating his misleading narrative about lower costs. After the vote, he has stated there is “virtually no inflation,” insisted “prices are way down,” and asserted “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” Such remarks contradict the fact that prices overall have unarguably risen since Biden left office. At present, inflation is running at a 3% annual rate, which is half again as much than the central bank’s 2% goal. Adding to the inaccuracies, Trump boasted that fuel costs had fallen to around two dollars, despite government figures show they are $3.19.

Confronted by actual conditions and declining opinion polls, advisers evidently cautioned that his “costs are falling” message portrayed him as dangerously out of touch from ordinary people. Many citizens are frustrated about prices continuing to climb after assurances of reductions. In response, advisers suggested a simple solution: roll back certain import taxes. This sensible idea contradicted Trump’s absurd assertion that additional taxes would not increase costs for American shoppers.

Proposed Solutions and Their Potential Effects

With some tariffs reduced on coffee, beef, tomatoes, and bananas, 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 extinguishing a blaze that he ignited. On another occasion, while speaking McDonald’s executives, Trump stated that “this is the golden age of America” and assured the audience that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” These comments are easy for a wealthy individual to make, but seem insincere to millions of Americans who are struggling—particularly when millions risk cuts to nutrition assistance or rising insurance costs.

According to a survey from October, three-quarters of respondents think the state of the economy are fair or poor, while only 26% consider them positive. Another poll found that 61% of Americans feel Trump’s policies have “worsened economic conditions” in the country.

Economic Reality and Suggested Measures

Scott Bessent, Trump’s top economic official, recently contradicted assertions of a prosperous era. He noted that far from booming, some parts of the US economy “have contracted.” Industrial production—which Trump vowed to save—seems to have shrunk for multiple consecutive months and lost around 33,000 jobs since January. Citing this weakness, Bessent called on the central bank to cut interest rates—a move that could help affordability.

Reacting to public dismay about living costs, the president proposed a direct payment of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” not for “the wealthy.” For many households in need, this sounds like manna from heaven, but the prospects are dim that Congress—already alarmed about large shortfalls—will enact the proposal. The scheme would likely increase federal spending, increase borrowing costs, and potentially drive prices higher by putting more money into the economy.

A further proposed solution for cost issues involved creating half-century home loans, based on the idea that this would lower housing costs. But, reality is that such lengthy loans would do little to reduce installments—frequently cutting them by just $100 or $200 per month. The drawback is that these mortgages could significantly increase the total interest homeowners pay and hinder building home value.

Faulting the Previous Administration and Financial Outlook

In their cost-cutting effort, the administration have once more blamed the previous president for economic problems, including increasing costs. Officials claimed they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “addressing the prior administration’s price hikes.” These are unfounded and inaccurate allegations. In reality, Biden left a robust economic situation, with inflation way down, economic growth strong, and unemployment low. However, Trump’s policies—particularly his tariffs—have resulted in an difficult situation, pushing up prices and reducing economic output.

Per an economist, lead analyst at Moody’s Analytics, 22 states are already in recession, with their conditions worsened by Trump’s tariffs. He worries that if large states such as major economies enter a downturn, the nation could face a broad economic slump. In downturns, consumers generally possess reduced funds to spend, and price increases often falls. Sadly, given the highly-touted cost initiative probably ineffective to control costs, his primary method for achieving increased affordability might prove to be triggering an economic contraction—something that hard-pressed households cannot handle.