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Throughout the previous race for the White House, the former president courted the electorate with promises to lower costs immediately upon taking office. However, after his inauguration, there was precious little focus to affordability issues. This shifted after inflation-weary voters delivered a rebuke at the ballot box. Shortly thereafter, his team initiated a slapdash campaign to tackle affordability. Unfortunately, this initiative has proven a hot mess—characterized by illogical claims, contradictions, unrealistic expectations, blame-shifting, and Trumpian dishonesty.

Out-of-Touch Claims and Grocery Store Reality

Just two days after the election, the president began his cost-reduction push with a disastrous remark: “Food prices are way down. All items is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” These words from billionaire Trump—who frequently mingles with fellow billionaires—revealed a lack of empathy for everyday citizens who struggle when visiting the grocery store. In effect, he ignored their struggles as unimportant, suggesting they had it wrong about price levels.

This statement that everything was “way down” was highly misleading and dishonest. How could every price be falling when his cherished tariffs were pushing up prices? Official statistics show banana prices increased 6.9% in the last twelve months, the price of beef went up almost 15%, and the cost of coffee surged 18.9%—in part because of punitive tariffs applied to Brazilian products. Between January and September, prices rose in the majority of food categories monitored by the Consumer Price Index, including meats, poultry, and fish (rising over 4%), drinks (increasing nearly 3%), and produce (up 1.3%).

Inconsistencies and Inaccuracies in Economic Claims

In spite of these numbers, Trump persists in repeating his big lie about lower costs. Since election day, he has stated there is “virtually no inflation,” declared “prices are way down,” and argued “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” These statements contradict the reality that prices overall have unarguably risen since Biden left office. At present, price growth is running at a 3% annual rate, which is 50% higher than the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal. Adding to the inaccuracies, he claimed that gas prices had dropped to around two dollars, even though official data indicate they average over three dollars.

Faced with reality and declining opinion polls, advisers evidently warned that his “prices are down” rhetoric portrayed him as disconnected from typical Americans. Many citizens are frustrated about prices continuing to climb after assurances of decreases. As a result, aides proposed one quick fix: reduce some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. The logical move clashed with Trump’s absurd assertion that additional taxes wouldn’t raise prices for US consumers.

Proposed Fixes and Their Possible Impact

As certain taxes being rolled back on coffee, beef, tomatoes, and bananas, the administration will probably announce that he has lowered costs once those foods begin to fall in price. That would be similar to a firestarter taking credit for extinguishing a blaze that he had started. On another occasion, while speaking McDonald’s executives, Trump stated that “we are in the peak period of America” and assured listeners that “prices are coming down and all of that stuff.” These comments come naturally for a wealthy individual to make, but seem insincere to millions of Americans facing hardships—especially when many risk losing food stamps or rising insurance costs.

Per a survey conducted last fall, three-quarters of respondents believe the state of the economy are mediocre or bad, while only 26% consider them positive. Another poll found that 61% of Americans say Trump’s policies have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Economic Reality and Proposed Measures

Scott Bessent, the president’s top economic official, lately contradicted assertions of a prosperous era. He noted that far from booming, some parts of the American economy “are in recession.” Industrial production—a priority for the administration—appears to have contracted for multiple consecutive months and shed approximately tens of thousands of positions since January. Citing this weakness, Bessent called on the central bank to cut interest rates—a move that could help affordability.

In response to public dismay about affordability, the president suggested a direct payment of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” not for “the wealthy.” For many struggling Americans, it seems like manna from heaven, but it is unlikely that lawmakers—already alarmed about huge budget deficits—will approve the proposal. This idea would likely raise government expenditure, increase borrowing costs, and possibly drive prices higher by putting more money into the economy.

A further proposed solution for affordability involved introducing 50-year mortgages, with the notion that they could reduce monthly mortgage payments. But, reality is that 50-year mortgages would do little to lower monthly payments—often reducing them by just $100 or $200 each month. The drawback is that these mortgages could more than double the overall cost borrowers pay and hinder their accumulation of equity.

Blaming the Previous Administration and Economic Outlook

As part of their cost-cutting effort, the administration have once more blamed Biden for economic problems, including rising prices. Spokespeople stated they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “addressing the prior administration’s price hikes.” This is unfounded and untruthful allegations. Actually, Biden left a strong economy, with low price growth, economic growth strong, and unemployment low. However, Trump’s policies—especially his tariffs—have created an difficult situation, driving costs higher and reducing economic output.

Per Mark Zandi, chief economist at a research firm, 22 states are experiencing economic decline, with their economies damaged by Trump’s tariffs. He worries that if large states like California and New York enter a downturn, the US could face a broad economic slump. During recessions, consumers typically have less money to spend, and price increases often falls. Sadly, given the highly-touted cost initiative likely to do little to control costs, his most effective “tool” for achieving increased affordability might end up triggering an economic contraction—something that struggling Americans cannot handle.