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During the previous presidential campaign, Donald Trump courted the electorate with promises to lower costs immediately upon taking office. But, once he assumed office, he seemed to pay precious little focus to the cost of living. All that changed following inflation-weary voters expressed dissatisfaction at the polls. Within days, the Trump administration launched a slapdash effort to tackle living costs. Unfortunately, this initiative is a disorganized endeavor—filled with absurdity, contradictions, magical thinking, scapegoating, and misleading statements.

Out-of-Touch Assertions and Grocery Store Truth

Merely 48 hours after the election, the president began his cost-reduction push with a poorly received statement: “Our groceries are way down. All items is way down… So I don’t want to hear about the cost of living.” These words from billionaire Trump—often mingles with fellow billionaires—demonstrated a lack of empathy for millions of Americans facing difficulties when visiting supermarkets. In effect, he dismissed their concerns as unimportant, suggesting they were mistaken about actual costs.

This statement that everything was “way down” proved absurdly obtuse and inaccurate. In what way could all costs be decreasing when his cherished tariffs were pushing up costs? Recent data indicate the cost of bananas increased 6.9% in the last twelve months, beef prices climbed almost 15%, and the cost of coffee jumped 18.9%—partly due to import taxes applied to Brazilian products. In the first three quarters, costs increased in five of the six main grocery groups tracked by the Consumer Price Index, such as meats, poultry, and fish (rising over 4%), non-alcoholic beverages (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 affordability. Since election day, he has stated there is “virtually no inflation,” declared “costs have fallen significantly,” and asserted “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” These statements contradict the fact that prices overall have clearly increased since Biden left office. Currently, inflation is at a 3 percent per year, which is 50% higher than the central bank’s 2% goal. In another falsehood, he boasted that fuel costs had dropped to around two dollars, even though official data show they are $3.19.

Confronted by actual conditions and lower approval ratings, advisers evidently cautioned that his “prices are down” rhetoric made him sound dangerously out of touch from ordinary people. A lot of voters are angry about rising costs following assurances of decreases. In response, aides proposed a simple solution: reduce some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. This sensible idea clashed with the president’s unrealistic claim that new tariffs would not increase costs for US consumers.

Suggested Fixes and Their Possible Effects

With some tariffs being rolled back on several food items, Trump will probably claim that he has cut prices once those foods start declining in price. That would be like an arsonist taking credit for extinguishing a fire that he had started. In another instance, while speaking fast-food leaders, Trump stated that “this is the golden age of America” and assured the audience that “prices are coming down and all of that stuff.” Such statements come naturally for a billionaire to make, but seem insincere to millions of Americans facing hardships—particularly when millions face losing food stamps or skyrocketing health premiums.

According to a recent poll from October, 74% of Americans believe economic conditions are fair or poor, while just a quarter consider them good or excellent. Another poll showed that a majority of citizens say Trump’s policies have “worsened economic conditions” in the country.

Financial Truth and Suggested Steps

The treasury secretary, Trump’s chief financial officer, recently contradicted claims of a golden age. He stated that instead of thriving, some parts of the US economy “are in recession.” Industrial production—which Trump vowed to save—seems to have shrunk for multiple consecutive months and shed approximately 33,000 jobs this year. Citing this weakness, Bessent called on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates—a move that could ease financial pressure.

In response to widespread concern about affordability, Trump suggested a cash handout of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” not for “high income people.” To numerous struggling Americans, this sounds like manna from heaven, but it is unlikely that Congress—already alarmed about large shortfalls—will approve the proposal. This idea would likely raise government expenditure, increase borrowing costs, and potentially drive prices higher by injecting cash into consumers’ pockets.

A further supposed fix for affordability involved introducing half-century home loans, with the notion that they could lower housing costs. But, reality is that such lengthy loans have minimal impact to lower monthly payments—often reducing them by just $100 or $200 each month. The drawback is that these mortgages could significantly increase the total interest borrowers pay and slow building home value.

Blaming the Past Government and Financial Prospects

In their cost-cutting effort, the administration have once more pointed fingers at Biden for economic problems, such as increasing costs. Spokespeople stated they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “addressing Biden’s inflation.” This is unfounded and untruthful allegations. Actually, the former president left a strong economy, with low price growth, economic growth strong, and minimal joblessness. But, the current administration’s actions—especially his tariffs—have resulted in an difficult situation, pushing up prices and reducing economic output.

According to Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, numerous regions are already in recession, with their economies damaged by the administration’s trade policies. Zandi fears that if large states such as California and New York enter a downturn, the nation could slide into a widespread recession. During recessions, people generally possess reduced funds to spend, and inflation usually declines. Sadly, with Trump’s much-ballyhooed affordability campaign probably ineffective to hold down prices, his primary method for achieving increased affordability might end up triggering an economic contraction—something that struggling Americans cannot handle.