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During last year's race for the White House, the former president wooed voters with promises to lower costs immediately upon taking office. But, once his inauguration, he seemed to pay minimal attention to the cost of living. This shifted following inflation-weary citizens expressed dissatisfaction at the ballot box. Shortly thereafter, the Trump administration launched a slapdash effort to tackle affordability. Regrettably, this initiative has proven a disorganized endeavor—characterized by illogical claims, inconsistencies, magical thinking, scapegoating, and misleading statements.

Out-of-Touch Claims and Grocery Store Truth

Just two days after the election, Trump kicked off his affordability drive with a poorly received statement: “Our groceries are way down. Everything is way down… So I don’t want to hear about the cost of living.” These words from the wealthy leader—who frequently associates with other ultra-rich individuals—demonstrated utter contempt for everyday citizens facing difficulties when visiting the grocery store. Essentially, he dismissed their concerns as trivial, suggesting they had it wrong about actual costs.

This statement about declining prices proved highly misleading and inaccurate. In what way could all costs be decreasing when his cherished tariffs were pushing up costs? Official statistics show the cost of bananas rose 6.9% over the past year, the price of beef climbed almost 15%, and the cost of coffee jumped 18.9%—partly because of punitive tariffs on Brazil’s coffee and beef. Between January and September, prices rose in the majority of main grocery groups tracked by the government’s price index, including meats, poultry, and fish (up 4.5%), drinks (up 2.8%), and fruits and vegetables (rising slightly).

Inconsistencies and Inaccuracies in Economic Claims

Despite these numbers, Trump persists in repeating his big lie about lower costs. Since election day, he has stated there is “almost no price increases,” insisted “prices are way down,” and argued “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under his predecessor.” These statements ignore the fact that prices overall have clearly increased since Biden left office. Currently, inflation is at a 3 percent per year, which is half again as much than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent. In another falsehood, he boasted that fuel costs had fallen to nearly $2 a gallon, despite official data indicate they are $3.19.

Faced with actual conditions and declining opinion polls, some Trump aides evidently cautioned that his “costs are falling” rhetoric made him sound disconnected from ordinary people. Many citizens are frustrated about rising costs after promises of reductions. As a result, aides proposed a simple solution: roll back some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. The logical move clashed with the president’s unrealistic claim that additional taxes would not increase costs for US consumers.

Suggested Fixes and Their Possible Impact

With certain taxes reduced on coffee, beef, tomatoes, and bananas, Trump will probably claim that he has lowered costs once these products start declining in price. This would be similar to a firestarter boasting for putting out a blaze that he ignited. On another occasion, when addressing McDonald’s executives, Trump declared that “this is the peak period of America” and told listeners that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” These comments are easy for a billionaire to make, but they ring hollow to countless households facing hardships—particularly when millions face cuts to nutrition assistance or rising insurance costs.

According to a recent poll from October, three-quarters of respondents think the state of the economy are fair or poor, while just a quarter consider them good or excellent. Another poll showed that a majority of citizens say Trump’s policies have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Economic Truth and Suggested Steps

The treasury secretary, Trump’s top economic official, lately contradicted claims of a golden age. He stated that far from booming, certain sectors of the US economy “have contracted.” The manufacturing sector—a priority for the administration—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.

Reacting to widespread concern about living costs, Trump suggested a cash handout of “a payout of at least $2,000 a person” excluding “the wealthy.” For many households in need, it seems like manna from heaven, but it is unlikely that lawmakers—concerned about huge budget deficits—will approve the proposal. The scheme would likely increase federal spending, increase interest rates, and possibly fuel inflation by injecting cash into the economy.

A further supposed fix for cost issues centered on introducing 50-year mortgages, based on the idea that they could reduce monthly mortgage payments. However, the truth is that such lengthy loans have minimal impact to lower monthly payments—frequently cutting them by a small amount each month. The downside is that these loans could significantly increase the overall cost borrowers pay and slow their accumulation of equity.

Faulting the Past Government and Financial Outlook

As part of their cost-cutting effort, Trump and his team have again blamed Biden for economic problems, such as increasing costs. Spokespeople claimed they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up the prior administration’s price hikes.” These are absurd and inaccurate claims. Actually, the former president handed over a strong economy, with inflation way down, solid expansion, and minimal joblessness. But, the current administration’s actions—especially his tariffs—have created an economic mess, pushing up prices and reducing economic output.

According to Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, 22 states are already in recession, with their conditions worsened by Trump’s tariffs. Zandi fears that if large states like major economies tumble into recession, the US could face a widespread recession. During recessions, people typically have less money to spend, and price increases often falls. Sadly, given Trump’s much-ballyhooed affordability campaign probably ineffective to hold down prices, his primary method for achieving increased affordability might prove to be pushing the nation into recession—a scenario that hard-pressed households really can’t afford.