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Throughout last year's race for the White House, Donald Trump wooed voters with promises to lower costs immediately upon taking office. But, once his inauguration, he seemed to pay minimal focus to the cost of living. This shifted after price-fatigued citizens expressed dissatisfaction at the ballot box. Within days, the Trump administration initiated a slapdash effort to address affordability. Unfortunately, this initiative is a hot mess—filled with illogical claims, contradictions, magical thinking, blame-shifting, and Trumpian dishonesty.

Out-of-Touch Assertions and Grocery Store Truth

Merely 48 hours post-election, the president kicked off his cost-reduction push 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—often associates with other ultra-rich individuals—demonstrated a lack of empathy for millions of Americans who struggle when visiting the grocery store. Essentially, he dismissed their struggles as unimportant, implying they were mistaken about actual costs.

This statement that everything was “way down” proved absurdly obtuse and dishonest. How could every price be falling when the taxes he imposed were increasing prices? Recent data indicate the cost of bananas increased nearly 7% in the last twelve months, beef prices went up 14.7%, and the cost of coffee surged by nearly 19%—partly due to import taxes applied to Brazilian products. Between January and September, costs increased in the majority of main grocery groups monitored by the Consumer Price Index, including meats, poultry, and fish (up 4.5%), non-alcoholic beverages (increasing nearly 3%), and produce (rising slightly).

Inconsistencies and Falsehoods in Economic Claims

In spite of these numbers, Trump persists in repeating his big lie about affordability. After the vote, he has stated there is “almost no price increases,” declared “prices are way down,” and argued “living is cheaper under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” Such remarks contradict the reality that general costs have clearly increased since Biden left office. At present, price growth is running at a 3% annual rate, that’s 50% higher than the central bank’s 2% goal. In another falsehood, Trump claimed that gas prices had dropped to nearly $2 a gallon, even though government figures show they average $3.19.

Confronted by reality and lower approval ratings, advisers evidently cautioned that his “prices are down” rhetoric portrayed him as dangerously out of touch from ordinary people. A lot of voters are frustrated about rising costs following assurances of decreases. In response, aides suggested one quick fix: roll back certain import taxes. This sensible idea contradicted Trump’s absurd assertion that new tariffs would not increase costs for US consumers.

Proposed Fixes and Their Possible Impact

With some tariffs reduced on coffee, beef, tomatoes, and bananas, Trump will probably announce that he has cut prices once these products start declining in price. That would be like an arsonist boasting for extinguishing a blaze that he had started. In another instance, while speaking McDonald’s executives, he stated that “this is the peak period of America” and told the audience that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” These comments are easy for a wealthy individual to make, but seem insincere to countless households who are struggling—particularly when millions face cuts to nutrition assistance or rising insurance costs.

According to a survey conducted last fall, three-quarters of respondents think economic conditions are fair or poor, while just a quarter consider them positive. A separate survey showed that 61% of Americans feel the administration’s actions have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Financial Truth and Proposed Measures

Scott Bessent, the president’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—a priority for the administration—appears to have contracted for multiple consecutive months and shed approximately tens of thousands of positions this year. Citing this weakness, the secretary called on the central bank to cut interest rates—a move that could help affordability.

In response to public dismay about living costs, Trump suggested a cash handout of “a payout of at least $2,000 a person” excluding “the wealthy.” To numerous struggling Americans, this sounds like manna from heaven, but the prospects are dim that lawmakers—concerned about large shortfalls—will approve the proposal. The scheme would likely raise government expenditure, push up borrowing costs, and potentially fuel inflation by injecting cash into the economy.

A further supposed fix for affordability centered on introducing 50-year mortgages, based on the idea that this would lower housing costs. But, the truth is that 50-year mortgages would do little to lower monthly payments—frequently reducing them by just $100 or $200 each month. The downside is that these loans could more than double the total interest homeowners pay and slow their accumulation of equity.

Faulting the Past Government and Financial Prospects

In their cost-cutting effort, the administration have again blamed Biden for financial challenges, such as rising prices. Officials stated they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “addressing the prior administration’s price hikes.” This is unfounded and inaccurate allegations. Actually, the former president left a strong economy, with low price growth, economic growth strong, and unemployment low. However, Trump’s policies—particularly his tariffs—have created an economic mess, driving costs higher and slowing GDP growth.

Per Mark Zandi, lead analyst at Moody’s Analytics, 22 states are already in recession, with their conditions worsened by the administration’s trade policies. He fears that if large states such as major economies tumble into recession, the US could slide into a widespread recession. In downturns, people typically have less money to spend, and inflation often falls. Unfortunately, with the highly-touted cost initiative likely to do little to hold down prices, his most effective “tool” for improving living standards might prove to be triggering an economic contraction—a scenario that hard-pressed households really can’t afford.