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Throughout last year's presidential campaign, Donald Trump courted voters with promises to reduce costs starting on day one. But, after he assumed office, there was precious little focus to the cost of living. All that changed after inflation-weary voters delivered a rebuke at the ballot box. Within days, the Trump administration launched a slapdash campaign to tackle affordability. Regrettably, the drive is a disorganized endeavor—characterized by absurdity, inconsistencies, magical thinking, blame-shifting, and Trumpian dishonesty.

Out-of-Touch Assertions and Supermarket Truth

Just two days after the election, Trump began 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 associates with fellow billionaires—demonstrated a lack of empathy for everyday citizens who struggle every time they go the grocery store. Essentially, he ignored their struggles as trivial, implying they were mistaken about actual costs.

His assertion about declining prices proved absurdly obtuse and dishonest. How could every price be falling when the taxes he imposed were pushing up costs? Official statistics indicate the cost of bananas increased 6.9% over the past year, beef prices went up almost 15%, and the cost of coffee surged by nearly 19%—partly due to punitive tariffs on Brazil’s coffee and beef. In the first three quarters, prices rose in five of the six main grocery groups monitored by the Consumer Price Index, including animal proteins (up 4.5%), drinks (increasing nearly 3%), and fruits and vegetables (up 1.3%).

Contradictions and Falsehoods in Economic Claims

In spite of these numbers, the president continues to push his big lie about lower costs. After the vote, 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.” These statements ignore the fact that general costs have unarguably risen since Biden left office. At present, inflation is at a 3% annual rate, that’s half again as much than the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal. In another falsehood, Trump boasted that fuel costs had dropped to around two dollars, despite government figures show they are $3.19.

Confronted by actual conditions and declining opinion polls, some Trump aides apparently cautioned that his “costs are falling” rhetoric portrayed him as disconnected from typical Americans. A lot of voters are angry about rising costs after assurances of reductions. As a result, advisers proposed a simple solution: reduce certain import taxes. This sensible idea clashed with Trump’s absurd assertion that additional taxes would not increase costs for US consumers.

Proposed Solutions and Their Possible Impact

With certain taxes reduced on coffee, beef, tomatoes, and bananas, the administration will likely announce that he has lowered costs once these products start declining in price. This would be like an arsonist boasting for extinguishing a fire that he had started. On another occasion, when addressing McDonald’s executives, he stated that “this is the peak period of America” and assured listeners that “prices are coming down and all of that stuff.” These comments are easy for a wealthy individual to make, but they ring hollow to countless households facing hardships—particularly when millions risk cuts to nutrition assistance or rising insurance costs.

Per a survey from October, 74% of Americans believe economic conditions are mediocre or bad, while just a quarter consider them good or excellent. Another poll found that 61% of Americans say the administration’s actions have “worsened economic conditions” in the country.

Financial Reality and Proposed Steps

Scott Bessent, Trump’s top economic official, lately disputed assertions of a golden age. He stated that instead of thriving, some parts of the American economy “are in recession.” The manufacturing sector—a priority for the administration—seems to have shrunk for eight months in a row and lost approximately tens of thousands of positions this year. Pointing to this weakness, the secretary called on the central bank to cut interest rates—an action that could help affordability.

Reacting to widespread concern about living costs, Trump suggested a cash handout of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” excluding “the wealthy.” For many struggling Americans, it seems like manna from heaven, but the prospects are dim that lawmakers—concerned about large shortfalls—will enact the proposal. The scheme would likely increase federal spending, push up borrowing costs, and potentially fuel inflation by putting more money into consumers’ pockets.

Another supposed fix for cost issues involved introducing half-century home loans, based on the idea that this would lower housing costs. But, reality is that such lengthy loans have minimal impact to lower monthly payments—often reducing them by a small amount per month. The drawback is that these loans could more than double the total interest borrowers pay and hinder their accumulation of equity.

Faulting the Past Government and Economic Prospects

As part of their affordability campaign, Trump and his team have once more blamed the previous president for financial challenges, such as increasing costs. Spokespeople stated they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “addressing Biden’s inflation.” This is unfounded and untruthful claims. In reality, Biden handed over a robust economic situation, with inflation way down, solid expansion, and minimal joblessness. But, the current administration’s actions—particularly import taxes—have created an difficult situation, driving costs higher and slowing GDP growth.

According to an economist, lead analyst at a research firm, 22 states are already in recession, with their conditions worsened by the administration’s trade policies. Zandi fears that if key regions like major economies enter a downturn, the nation could slide into a widespread recession. In downturns, consumers typically have less money to spend, and price increases often falls. Unfortunately, given the highly-touted affordability campaign probably ineffective to control costs, his most effective “tool” for improving living standards might prove to be pushing the nation into recession—a scenario that hard-pressed households cannot handle.