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Throughout last year's presidential campaign, the former president courted the electorate with promises to lower prices starting on day one. However, after he assumed office, there was precious little attention to the cost of living. This shifted following price-fatigued citizens delivered a rebuke at the ballot box. Within days, his team launched a hastily assembled campaign to tackle affordability. Regrettably, the drive is a hot mess—filled with illogical claims, contradictions, unrealistic expectations, blame-shifting, and Trumpian dishonesty.

Out-of-Touch Claims and Grocery Store Truth

Just two days after the election, the president kicked off 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 utter contempt for everyday citizens facing difficulties when visiting the grocery store. In effect, he dismissed their struggles as trivial, implying they had it wrong about actual costs.

This statement that everything was “way down” proved highly misleading and inaccurate. In what way could every price be decreasing when the taxes he imposed were pushing up prices? Recent data show the cost of bananas rose 6.9% over the past year, the price of beef climbed 14.7%, and coffee prices surged 18.9%—partly because of punitive tariffs applied to Brazilian products. Between January and September, prices rose in five of the six main grocery groups tracked by the Consumer Price Index, including meats, poultry, and fish (rising over 4%), non-alcoholic beverages (up 2.8%), and fruits and vegetables (up 1.3%).

Inconsistencies and Falsehoods in Economic Claims

Despite these numbers, the president continues to push his misleading narrative about lower costs. After the vote, he has claimed 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.” Such remarks contradict the fact that general costs have clearly increased after the previous administration. Currently, price growth is at a 3 percent per year, that’s 50% higher than the central bank’s target of 2 percent. In another falsehood, he boasted that fuel costs had dropped to around two dollars, despite official data show they average $3.19.

Faced with reality and lower approval ratings, some Trump aides apparently cautioned that his “costs are falling” rhetoric portrayed him as dangerously out of touch from typical Americans. A lot of voters are angry about prices continuing to climb after assurances of reductions. As a result, aides proposed one quick fix: roll back certain import taxes. The logical move clashed with Trump’s absurd assertion that additional taxes wouldn’t raise prices for American shoppers.

Suggested Solutions and Their Potential Effects

As some tariffs being rolled back on several food items, Trump will likely claim that he has lowered costs once these products begin to fall in price. This would be like an arsonist boasting for putting out a fire that he had started. In another instance, while speaking fast-food leaders, he declared that “this is the golden age of America” and assured the audience that “prices are coming down and all of that stuff.” These comments come naturally for a wealthy individual to make, but they ring hollow to millions of Americans facing hardships—particularly when millions face losing food stamps or rising insurance costs.

Per a recent poll conducted last fall, 74% of Americans believe economic conditions are mediocre or bad, while only 26% consider them positive. A separate survey found that a majority of citizens say Trump’s policies have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Economic Reality and Proposed Measures

The treasury secretary, the president’s top economic official, lately disputed assertions of a golden age. He noted that far from booming, certain sectors of the US economy “are in recession.” The manufacturing sector—which Trump vowed to save—appears to have contracted for eight months in a row and lost around tens of thousands of positions since January. Citing these challenges, the secretary called on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates—an action that could help affordability.

Reacting to public dismay about living costs, the president suggested a direct payment of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” excluding “the wealthy.” To numerous households in need, it seems like a financial lifeline, but the prospects are dim that Congress—already alarmed about huge budget deficits—will enact the proposal. This idea would likely increase federal spending, increase interest rates, and possibly fuel inflation by putting more money into the economy.

A further proposed solution for cost issues involved introducing 50-year mortgages, with the notion that this would reduce monthly mortgage payments. However, the truth is that such lengthy loans have minimal impact to reduce installments—frequently cutting them by a small amount each month. The drawback is that these mortgages could significantly increase the overall cost borrowers pay and slow their accumulation of equity.

Faulting the Previous Administration and Economic Prospects

In their cost-cutting effort, the administration have again pointed fingers at the previous president for economic problems, such as rising prices. Spokespeople claimed they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up the prior administration’s price hikes.” These are unfounded and inaccurate allegations. In reality, the former president left a robust economic situation, with low price growth, economic growth strong, and minimal joblessness. But, Trump’s policies—especially his tariffs—have created an difficult situation, driving costs higher and slowing GDP growth.

Per Mark Zandi, lead analyst at Moody’s Analytics, 22 states are experiencing economic decline, with their economies damaged by Trump’s tariffs. He worries that if large states such as major economies enter a downturn, the US could face a broad economic slump. In downturns, people typically have less money to spend, and inflation often falls. Unfortunately, given the highly-touted affordability campaign probably ineffective to hold down prices, his primary method for achieving increased affordability might end up pushing the nation into recession—something that hard-pressed households really can’t afford.