🔗 Share this article

Throughout the previous race for the White House, Donald Trump wooed the electorate with promises to lower costs immediately upon taking office. But, after he assumed office, there was precious little attention to affordability issues. All that changed after price-fatigued voters expressed dissatisfaction at the polls. Within days, his team initiated a hastily assembled campaign to tackle affordability. Unfortunately, the drive is a hot mess—characterized by illogical claims, inconsistencies, unrealistic expectations, scapegoating, and Trumpian dishonesty.

Out-of-Touch Claims and Supermarket Reality

Just two days post-election, the president kicked off his affordability drive with a disastrous statement: “Food prices 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—often mingles with other ultra-rich individuals—demonstrated utter contempt for everyday citizens who struggle every time they go the grocery store. In effect, he ignored their concerns as trivial, suggesting they were mistaken about price levels.

This statement that everything was “way down” proved highly misleading and dishonest. In what way could all costs be falling when the taxes he imposed were increasing prices? Official statistics indicate banana prices increased 6.9% over the past year, beef prices went up 14.7%, and the cost of coffee surged 18.9%—partly because of punitive tariffs on Brazil’s coffee and beef. Between January and September, prices rose in five of the six food categories monitored by the Consumer Price Index, such as animal proteins (rising over 4%), drinks (increasing nearly 3%), and fruits and vegetables (up 1.3%).

Inconsistencies and Inaccuracies in Economic Claims

Despite the evidence, Trump continues to push his misleading narrative about affordability. After the vote, he has claimed there is “almost no price increases,” insisted “costs have fallen significantly,” and argued “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” Such remarks contradict the reality that prices overall have unarguably risen since Biden left office. Currently, price growth is at a 3% annual rate, that’s 50% higher than the central bank’s 2% goal. Adding to the inaccuracies, he claimed that fuel costs had dropped to nearly $2 a gallon, even though official data show they average over three dollars.

Faced with actual conditions and lower approval ratings, advisers evidently warned that his “costs are falling” message portrayed him as dangerously out of touch from ordinary people. Many citizens are frustrated about prices continuing to climb after promises of decreases. In response, advisers proposed one quick fix: reduce certain import taxes. The logical move clashed with Trump’s absurd assertion that new tariffs wouldn’t raise prices for US consumers.

Suggested Fixes and Their Potential Effects

As some tariffs reduced on several food items, Trump will probably announce that he has cut prices once these products start declining in price. That would be like an arsonist boasting for putting out a blaze that he ignited. On another occasion, while speaking McDonald’s executives, he stated that “we are in the golden age of America” and told listeners that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” These comments come naturally for a wealthy individual to make, but seem insincere to countless households facing hardships—particularly when millions face cuts to nutrition assistance or skyrocketing health premiums.

Per a recent poll from October, 74% of Americans think economic conditions are fair or poor, while only 26% consider them positive. Another poll showed that 61% of Americans say the administration’s actions have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Financial Truth and Proposed Steps

Scott Bessent, the president’s top economic official, lately disputed claims of a prosperous era. He stated that instead of thriving, some parts of the American economy “are in recession.” The manufacturing sector—a priority for the administration—seems to have shrunk for eight months in a row and lost approximately tens of thousands of positions since January. Pointing to these challenges, Bessent urged the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates—a move that could help affordability.

In response 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, this sounds like a financial lifeline, but it is unlikely that Congress—already alarmed about large shortfalls—will enact the proposal. The scheme would likely raise government expenditure, increase borrowing costs, and possibly fuel inflation by putting more money into the economy.

A further supposed fix for affordability centered on introducing 50-year mortgages, based on the idea that they could reduce monthly mortgage payments. However, reality is that 50-year mortgages would do little to lower monthly payments—often reducing them by just $100 or $200 per month. The downside is that these loans could more than double the overall cost homeowners pay and hinder building home value.

Faulting the Previous Administration and Economic Outlook

As part of their cost-cutting effort, Trump and his team have once more blamed Biden for economic problems, including rising prices. Spokespeople claimed they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up Biden’s inflation.” This is unfounded and untruthful claims. In reality, Biden handed over a strong economy, with inflation way down, solid expansion, and unemployment low. However, the current administration’s actions—especially his tariffs—have created an difficult situation, pushing up prices and slowing GDP growth.

Per Mark Zandi, lead analyst at Moody’s Analytics, 22 states are experiencing economic decline, with their economies damaged by the administration’s trade policies. He worries that if large states like major economies tumble into recession, the nation could slide into a widespread recession. During recessions, consumers generally possess reduced funds to spend, and price increases often falls. Sadly, given Trump’s much-ballyhooed affordability campaign likely to do little to control costs, his primary method for improving living standards might end up pushing the nation into recession—something that hard-pressed households cannot handle.