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Throughout last year's race for the White House, Donald Trump courted the electorate with pledges to lower prices starting on day one. However, after he assumed office, he seemed to pay precious little attention to the cost of living. All that changed after price-fatigued voters expressed dissatisfaction at the ballot box. Shortly thereafter, the Trump administration launched a slapdash campaign to address living costs. Unfortunately, the drive is a disorganized endeavor—characterized by illogical claims, inconsistencies, magical thinking, blame-shifting, and misleading statements.

Detached Assertions and Supermarket Truth

Merely 48 hours after the election, the president began his affordability drive with a disastrous 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—who frequently mingles with fellow billionaires—revealed a lack of empathy for everyday citizens facing difficulties every time they go the grocery store. Essentially, he dismissed their concerns as unimportant, implying they had it wrong about actual costs.

His assertion about declining prices was highly misleading and inaccurate. How could all costs be decreasing when the taxes he imposed were pushing up costs? Recent data show the cost of bananas rose nearly 7% in the last twelve months, the price of beef climbed almost 15%, and the cost of coffee jumped 18.9%—in part due to punitive tariffs applied to Brazilian products. In the first three quarters, prices rose in the majority of main grocery groups monitored by the government’s price index, such as animal proteins (up 4.5%), drinks (increasing nearly 3%), and produce (up 1.3%).

Contradictions and Falsehoods in Economic Claims

In spite of the evidence, the president continues to push his big lie about lower costs. After the vote, he has stated there is “virtually no inflation,” insisted “costs have fallen significantly,” and asserted “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under his predecessor.” These statements contradict the fact that prices overall have clearly increased after the previous administration. At present, price growth is at a 3 percent per year, which is half again as much than the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal. In another falsehood, Trump boasted that fuel costs had dropped to nearly $2 a gallon, despite government figures show they average $3.19.

Confronted by actual conditions and declining opinion polls, advisers evidently warned that his “prices are down” rhetoric made him sound dangerously out of touch from typical Americans. Many citizens are angry about rising costs following promises of decreases. As a result, aides proposed a simple solution: roll back certain import taxes. This sensible idea clashed with the president’s unrealistic claim that new tariffs wouldn’t raise prices for US consumers.

Proposed Solutions and Their Potential Effects

With some tariffs being rolled back on several food items, Trump will likely announce that he has lowered costs once those foods start declining in price. That would be similar to a firestarter taking credit for extinguishing a blaze that he had started. In another instance, while speaking fast-food leaders, Trump declared that “we are in the golden age of America” and assured the audience that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” Such statements come naturally for a billionaire to make, but seem insincere to millions of Americans who are struggling—especially when millions face cuts to nutrition assistance or skyrocketing health premiums.

Per a recent poll conducted last fall, 74% of Americans believe the state of the economy 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 “made the economy worse” in the country.

Economic Truth and Proposed Steps

The treasury secretary, Trump’s top economic official, lately contradicted claims of a golden age. He stated that instead of thriving, some parts of the US economy “are in recession.” The manufacturing sector—which Trump vowed to save—appears to have contracted for multiple consecutive months and lost approximately 33,000 jobs this year. Pointing to this weakness, the secretary urged the central bank to cut interest rates—an action that could ease financial pressure.

In response to public dismay about affordability, the president proposed a cash handout of “a payout of at least $2,000 a person” not for “high income people.” For many struggling Americans, this sounds like a financial lifeline, but it is unlikely that lawmakers—concerned about large shortfalls—will approve such a plan. The scheme would likely raise government expenditure, push up borrowing costs, and possibly fuel inflation by putting more money into consumers’ pockets.

A further supposed fix for cost issues centered on introducing 50-year mortgages, with the notion that they could lower housing costs. But, the truth is that 50-year mortgages have minimal impact to lower monthly payments—often cutting them by just $100 or $200 per month. The downside is that these mortgages could more than double the total interest borrowers pay and slow their accumulation of equity.

Faulting the Previous Administration and Economic Prospects

In their cost-cutting effort, Trump and his team have once more pointed fingers at the previous president for financial challenges, including rising prices. Officials stated they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “addressing Biden’s inflation.” This is absurd and untruthful claims. Actually, Biden left a strong economy, with low price growth, solid expansion, and minimal joblessness. But, the current administration’s actions—particularly import taxes—have resulted in an difficult situation, pushing up prices and reducing economic output.

According to an economist, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, numerous regions are experiencing economic decline, with their economies damaged by the administration’s trade policies. He worries that if large states like California and New York enter a downturn, the US could face a broad economic slump. In downturns, consumers typically have reduced funds to spend, and inflation often falls. Unfortunately, with Trump’s much-ballyhooed affordability campaign probably ineffective to control costs, his primary method for achieving increased affordability might end up pushing the nation into recession—a scenario that hard-pressed households really can’t afford.