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Throughout the previous presidential campaign, the former president courted the electorate with pledges to lower costs starting on day one. But, once his inauguration, there was precious little focus to affordability issues. This shifted following inflation-weary citizens delivered a rebuke at the ballot box. Shortly thereafter, the Trump administration initiated a hastily assembled effort to address living costs. Regrettably, this initiative is a hot mess—characterized by absurdity, inconsistencies, unrealistic expectations, scapegoating, and misleading statements.

Detached Assertions and Grocery Store Truth

Just two days post-election, Trump kicked off his affordability drive with a disastrous remark: “Our groceries are way down. Everything is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” This comment from billionaire Trump—often associates with other ultra-rich individuals—revealed utter contempt for millions of Americans who struggle when visiting supermarkets. In effect, he ignored their struggles as trivial, implying they were mistaken about price levels.

This statement that everything was “way down” proved absurdly obtuse and dishonest. How could every price be decreasing when the taxes he imposed were increasing prices? Official statistics show banana prices rose 6.9% in the last twelve months, the price of beef went up 14.7%, and coffee prices surged by nearly 19%—partly due to import taxes applied to Brazilian products. Between January and September, costs increased in five of the six food categories tracked by the Consumer Price Index, including animal proteins (rising over 4%), non-alcoholic beverages (up 2.8%), and produce (up 1.3%).

Inconsistencies and Inaccuracies in Economic Claims

Despite these numbers, Trump persists in repeating his big lie about affordability. After the vote, he has stated there is “almost no price increases,” insisted “prices are way down,” and asserted “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under his predecessor.” Such remarks ignore the fact that prices overall have clearly increased since Biden left office. Currently, inflation is at a 3% annual rate, that’s half again as much than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent. In another falsehood, Trump claimed that fuel costs had fallen to nearly $2 a gallon, despite official data indicate they are over three dollars.

Faced with reality and declining opinion polls, some Trump aides evidently warned that his “costs are falling” message portrayed him as disconnected from ordinary people. A lot of voters are frustrated about rising costs after promises of decreases. As a result, advisers suggested a simple solution: reduce certain import taxes. The logical move contradicted Trump’s absurd assertion that new tariffs wouldn’t raise prices for US consumers.

Suggested Fixes and Their Potential Effects

With some tariffs reduced on coffee, beef, tomatoes, and bananas, the administration will likely announce that he has cut prices once those foods begin to fall in price. This would be like an arsonist boasting for extinguishing a blaze that he ignited. On another occasion, when addressing McDonald’s executives, he stated that “this is the golden age of America” and told the audience that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” Such statements are easy for a billionaire to make, but they ring hollow to millions of Americans who are struggling—particularly when millions risk cuts to nutrition assistance or rising insurance costs.

Per a survey from October, 74% of Americans think the state of the economy are mediocre or bad, while just a quarter rate them positive. Another poll found that 61% of Americans say Trump’s policies have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Financial Reality and Suggested Steps

The treasury secretary, Trump’s chief financial officer, recently contradicted assertions of a golden age. He stated that instead of thriving, certain sectors of the American economy “have contracted.” Industrial production—which Trump vowed to save—appears to have contracted for multiple consecutive months and lost approximately tens of thousands of positions this year. Citing these challenges, Bessent urged the central bank to cut interest rates—a move that could help affordability.

In response to widespread concern about affordability, Trump proposed a direct payment of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” excluding “the wealthy.” To numerous struggling Americans, it seems like manna from heaven, but it is unlikely that Congress—concerned about huge budget deficits—will enact such a plan. This idea would likely increase federal spending, increase interest rates, and potentially fuel inflation by putting more money into consumers’ pockets.

Another supposed fix for affordability centered on introducing half-century home loans, based on the idea that they could lower housing costs. But, reality is that 50-year mortgages have minimal impact to lower monthly payments—frequently reducing them by a small amount each month. The drawback is that these mortgages could significantly increase the overall cost borrowers pay and hinder their accumulation of equity.

Blaming the Past Government and Financial Outlook

As part of their affordability campaign, the administration have again blamed Biden for financial challenges, including rising prices. Officials claimed they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “addressing the prior administration’s price hikes.” These are absurd and untruthful claims. Actually, Biden left a strong economy, with low price growth, economic growth strong, and unemployment low. However, the current administration’s actions—particularly his tariffs—have created an economic mess, pushing up prices and reducing economic output.

According to Mark Zandi, lead analyst at a research firm, 22 states are already in recession, with their conditions worsened by Trump’s tariffs. He worries that if large states like major economies tumble into recession, the nation could slide into a broad economic slump. In downturns, people typically have less money to spend, and price increases usually declines. Sadly, with Trump’s much-ballyhooed affordability campaign probably ineffective to control costs, his most effective “tool” for achieving increased affordability might prove to be triggering an economic contraction—something that hard-pressed households cannot handle.