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Throughout the previous race for the White House, the former president courted voters with promises to reduce costs immediately upon taking office. However, once his inauguration, he seemed to pay minimal focus to the cost of living. All that changed following price-fatigued citizens expressed dissatisfaction at the polls. Within days, his team launched a hastily assembled campaign to tackle affordability. Regrettably, the drive has proven a hot mess—filled with illogical claims, contradictions, unrealistic expectations, blame-shifting, and misleading statements.

Out-of-Touch Claims and Supermarket Truth

Just two days post-election, the president kicked off his cost-reduction push with a poorly received statement: “Food prices are way down. Everything is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” This comment from billionaire Trump—often mingles with fellow billionaires—demonstrated utter contempt for millions of Americans who struggle when visiting supermarkets. In effect, he ignored their concerns as trivial, suggesting they were mistaken about price levels.

His assertion about declining prices proved highly misleading and dishonest. How could every price be decreasing when the taxes he imposed were increasing prices? Recent data show banana prices rose 6.9% over the past year, beef prices climbed almost 15%, and coffee prices surged by nearly 19%—in part because of import taxes on Brazil’s coffee and beef. In the first three quarters, costs increased in five of the six food categories tracked by the Consumer Price Index, including animal proteins (up 4.5%), drinks (up 2.8%), and produce (up 1.3%).

Contradictions and Falsehoods in Economic Claims

Despite the evidence, Trump continues to push his big lie about lower costs. After the vote, he has claimed there is “almost no price increases,” declared “prices are way down,” and asserted “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under his predecessor.” Such remarks ignore the reality that prices overall have clearly increased after the previous administration. At present, price growth is at a 3% annual rate, which is half again as much than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent. Adding to the inaccuracies, he claimed that fuel costs had fallen to nearly $2 a gallon, despite government figures show they average $3.19.

Faced with reality and lower approval ratings, advisers apparently cautioned that his “costs are falling” rhetoric made him sound disconnected from ordinary people. Many voters are frustrated about rising costs following assurances of reductions. In response, aides proposed one quick fix: roll back some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. This sensible idea clashed with Trump’s absurd assertion that new tariffs would not increase costs for US consumers.

Suggested Fixes and Their Possible Impact

With certain taxes being rolled back on coffee, beef, tomatoes, and bananas, the administration will likely claim that he has lowered costs once these products begin to fall in price. That would be like an arsonist taking credit for putting out a fire that he ignited. On another occasion, while speaking fast-food leaders, he declared that “we are in the peak period of America” and assured listeners that “prices are coming down and all of that stuff.” These comments are easy for a billionaire to make, but seem insincere to countless households who are struggling—especially when many risk losing food stamps or skyrocketing health premiums.

Per a survey from October, 74% of Americans believe economic conditions are fair or poor, while only 26% rate them good or excellent. A separate survey showed that a majority of citizens say Trump’s policies have “worsened economic conditions” in the country.

Economic Truth and Suggested Measures

The treasury secretary, Trump’s chief financial officer, lately disputed assertions of a prosperous era. He noted that instead of thriving, certain sectors of the American economy “are in recession.” Industrial production—which Trump vowed to save—appears to have contracted for eight months in a row and lost approximately 33,000 jobs this year. Citing these challenges, the secretary called on the Federal Reserve to reduce borrowing costs—an action that could ease financial pressure.

In response to public dismay about living costs, Trump proposed a cash handout of “a payout of at least $2,000 a person” excluding “high income people.” To numerous struggling Americans, it seems like manna from heaven, but it is unlikely that lawmakers—concerned about huge budget deficits—will enact such a plan. The scheme could raise government expenditure, increase interest rates, and potentially drive prices higher by injecting cash into consumers’ pockets.

Another supposed fix for affordability centered on creating half-century home loans, based on the idea that they could lower housing costs. However, the truth is that such lengthy loans have minimal impact to reduce installments—often reducing them by a small amount each month. The downside is that these mortgages could more than double the total interest homeowners pay and slow their accumulation of equity.

Blaming the Past Government and Financial Outlook

As part of their cost-cutting effort, the administration have again pointed fingers at the previous president 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 inaccurate allegations. Actually, the former president left a robust economic situation, with low price growth, solid expansion, and unemployment low. However, Trump’s policies—particularly import taxes—have created an difficult situation, driving costs higher and reducing economic output.

According to Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, 22 states are experiencing economic decline, with their conditions worsened by the administration’s trade policies. Zandi worries that if key regions like California and New York tumble into recession, the nation could face a widespread recession. In downturns, people typically have less money to spend, and price increases often falls. Sadly, given Trump’s much-ballyhooed cost initiative probably ineffective to hold down prices, his primary method for achieving increased affordability might end up triggering an economic contraction—a scenario that struggling Americans cannot handle.