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Throughout the previous presidential campaign, Donald Trump wooed voters with pledges to reduce costs immediately upon taking office. But, once he assumed office, there was precious little focus to the cost of living. All that changed after inflation-weary citizens expressed dissatisfaction at the polls. Shortly thereafter, his team launched a slapdash effort to tackle living costs. Unfortunately, the drive has proven a hot mess—filled with illogical claims, inconsistencies, magical thinking, blame-shifting, and misleading statements.

Detached Assertions and Supermarket Truth

Merely 48 hours after the election, the president kicked off his affordability drive with a disastrous remark: “Food prices are way down. All items is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” This comment from the wealthy leader—who frequently associates with other ultra-rich individuals—revealed utter contempt for millions of Americans facing difficulties when visiting the grocery store. In effect, he ignored their concerns as trivial, suggesting they were mistaken about actual costs.

This statement that everything was “way down” was highly misleading and dishonest. How could all costs be falling when his cherished tariffs were increasing costs? Official statistics show banana prices rose nearly 7% in the last twelve months, beef prices went up 14.7%, and the cost of coffee jumped by nearly 19%—in part because of import taxes applied to Brazilian products. In the first three quarters, costs increased in the majority of main grocery groups tracked by the government’s price index, including meats, poultry, and fish (rising over 4%), drinks (up 2.8%), and fruits and vegetables (up 1.3%).

Inconsistencies and Falsehoods in Financial Statements

In spite of the evidence, the president persists in repeating his big lie about affordability. Since election day, he has claimed there is “virtually no inflation,” insisted “costs have fallen significantly,” and asserted “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” These statements ignore the reality that prices overall have unarguably risen since Biden left office. Currently, price growth is running at a 3 percent per year, that’s 50% higher than the central bank’s 2% goal. In another falsehood, he claimed that gas prices had fallen to around two dollars, even though government figures indicate they are over three dollars.

Confronted by reality and lower approval ratings, some Trump aides apparently cautioned that his “costs are falling” message made him sound disconnected from ordinary people. Many citizens are angry about rising costs following promises of reductions. As a result, 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 American shoppers.

Proposed Solutions and Their Potential Effects

As some tariffs reduced on coffee, beef, tomatoes, and bananas, the administration will likely announce that he has lowered costs once these products 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, he stated that “we are in the golden age of America” and told the audience that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” These comments are easy for a billionaire to make, but they ring hollow to millions of Americans who are struggling—especially when millions risk losing food stamps or rising insurance costs.

According to a recent poll from October, 74% of Americans think the state of the economy are mediocre or bad, while only 26% consider them good or excellent. A separate survey found that a majority of citizens feel the administration’s actions have “worsened economic conditions” in the country.

Financial Reality and Suggested Steps

The treasury secretary, Trump’s top economic official, recently disputed assertions of a prosperous era. He noted that far from booming, some parts of the US economy “are in recession.” The manufacturing sector—which Trump vowed to save—seems to have shrunk for multiple consecutive months and lost approximately tens of thousands of positions this year. Pointing to these challenges, Bessent urged the Federal Reserve to reduce borrowing costs—an action that could help affordability.

In response to widespread concern 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 the prospects are dim that Congress—concerned about huge budget deficits—will approve the proposal. This idea would likely raise government expenditure, push up interest rates, and possibly fuel inflation by injecting cash into the economy.

A further proposed solution for cost issues involved introducing half-century home loans, based on the idea that this would lower housing costs. However, the truth is that 50-year mortgages have minimal impact to lower monthly payments—frequently cutting them by just $100 or $200 each month. The drawback is that these loans could significantly increase the total interest borrowers pay and slow their accumulation of equity.

Faulting the Previous Administration and Financial Outlook

As part of their affordability campaign, the administration have again pointed fingers at the previous president for financial challenges, including increasing costs. Officials claimed they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up the prior administration’s price hikes.” These are absurd and untruthful claims. Actually, the former president handed over a strong economy, with low price growth, economic growth strong, and unemployment low. However, the current administration’s actions—especially his tariffs—have resulted in an economic mess, driving costs higher and reducing economic output.

According to Mark Zandi, chief economist at a research firm, 22 states are already in recession, with their economies damaged by Trump’s tariffs. He worries that if key regions such as California and New York tumble into recession, the US could slide into a broad economic slump. In downturns, people generally possess reduced funds to spend, and price increases usually declines. Sadly, with the highly-touted affordability campaign probably ineffective to hold down prices, his most effective “tool” for achieving increased affordability might end up pushing the nation into recession—something that struggling Americans really can’t afford.