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During the previous race for the White House, Donald Trump courted voters with pledges to reduce prices starting on day one. But, once his inauguration, he seemed to pay precious little focus to affordability issues. All that changed following price-fatigued voters delivered a rebuke at the polls. Shortly thereafter, his team initiated a slapdash campaign to address affordability. Regrettably, this initiative has proven a disorganized endeavor—characterized by absurdity, contradictions, magical thinking, scapegoating, and Trumpian dishonesty.

Detached Assertions and Supermarket Reality

Just two days after the election, Trump began his affordability drive with a disastrous remark: “Food prices are way down. Everything is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” This comment from the wealthy leader—who frequently associates with fellow billionaires—revealed a lack of empathy for everyday citizens who struggle every time they go supermarkets. Essentially, he ignored their struggles as trivial, suggesting they were mistaken about price levels.

This statement that everything was “way down” was highly misleading and dishonest. In what way could every price be decreasing when the taxes he imposed were pushing up prices? Official statistics indicate the cost of bananas increased nearly 7% in the last twelve months, the price of beef climbed 14.7%, and coffee prices jumped by nearly 19%—partly because of punitive tariffs on Brazil’s coffee and beef. Between January and September, costs increased in the majority of food categories tracked by the Consumer Price Index, including animal proteins (up 4.5%), drinks (up 2.8%), and fruits and vegetables (rising slightly).

Inconsistencies and Inaccuracies in Financial Statements

Despite the evidence, Trump continues to push his misleading narrative about affordability. After the vote, he has stated there is “almost no price increases,” declared “costs have fallen significantly,” and argued “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under his predecessor.” These statements contradict the fact that prices overall have unarguably risen since Biden left office. Currently, price growth is running at a 3 percent per year, that’s half again as much than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent. Adding to the inaccuracies, he claimed that gas prices had dropped to around two dollars, even though official data indicate they are $3.19.

Faced with reality and declining opinion polls, advisers evidently warned that his “prices are down” message made him sound dangerously out of touch from ordinary people. Many voters are angry about prices continuing to climb after assurances of decreases. As a result, aides proposed a simple solution: reduce certain import taxes. The logical move clashed with the president’s unrealistic claim that new tariffs would not increase costs for US consumers.

Proposed Solutions and Their Possible Impact

As some tariffs being rolled back on several food items, Trump will likely announce that he has lowered costs once these products begin to fall in price. This would be similar to a firestarter taking credit for putting out a fire that he ignited. In another instance, when addressing McDonald’s executives, he stated that “we are in the peak period of America” and told listeners that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” These comments are easy for a billionaire to make, but seem insincere to millions of Americans who are struggling—especially when millions risk losing food stamps or rising insurance costs.

Per a survey from October, three-quarters of respondents think the state of the economy are fair or poor, while just a quarter rate them positive. A separate survey found that 61% of Americans feel Trump’s policies have “worsened economic conditions” in the country.

Financial Truth and Suggested Measures

Scott Bessent, the president’s top economic official, recently contradicted assertions of a prosperous era. He stated that far from booming, certain sectors of the US economy “have contracted.” Industrial production—a priority for the administration—appears to have contracted for multiple consecutive months and lost approximately 33,000 jobs this year. Pointing to these challenges, Bessent urged the central bank to reduce borrowing costs—a move that could ease financial pressure.

In response to public dismay about living costs, the president proposed a direct payment of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” excluding “high income people.” For many households in need, this sounds like manna from heaven, but it is unlikely that lawmakers—concerned about huge budget deficits—will approve such a plan. This idea would likely increase federal spending, push up interest rates, and potentially fuel inflation by injecting cash into the economy.

A further supposed fix for affordability centered on creating half-century home loans, with the notion that they could lower housing costs. But, the truth is that 50-year mortgages would do little to lower monthly payments—often reducing them by just $100 or $200 per month. The downside is that these loans could significantly increase the overall cost homeowners pay and hinder their accumulation of equity.

Faulting the Previous Administration and Economic Outlook

In their affordability campaign, Trump and his team have again pointed fingers at Biden for economic problems, such as rising prices. Officials stated they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “addressing the prior administration’s price hikes.” This is unfounded and inaccurate allegations. In reality, the former president left a strong economy, with low price growth, solid expansion, and minimal joblessness. However, Trump’s policies—especially import taxes—have created an difficult situation, driving costs higher and slowing GDP growth.

Per an economist, lead analyst at Moody’s Analytics, 22 states are already in recession, with their economies damaged by Trump’s tariffs. He fears that if key regions like major economies enter a downturn, the nation could slide into a widespread recession. During recessions, consumers generally possess less money to spend, and inflation usually declines. Sadly, given Trump’s much-ballyhooed cost initiative probably ineffective to control costs, his primary method for improving living standards might end up triggering an economic contraction—something that hard-pressed households really can’t afford.