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Throughout the previous race for the White House, the former president courted voters with promises to lower prices immediately upon taking office. But, once his inauguration, he seemed to pay precious little attention to the cost of living. This shifted following price-fatigued citizens expressed dissatisfaction at the ballot box. Within days, his team initiated a hastily assembled effort to tackle affordability. Unfortunately, this initiative has proven a disorganized endeavor—characterized by illogical claims, inconsistencies, unrealistic expectations, blame-shifting, and Trumpian dishonesty.

Out-of-Touch Assertions and Grocery Store Truth

Merely 48 hours after the election, the president began his affordability drive with a disastrous statement: “Food prices are way down. Everything is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” These words from billionaire Trump—who frequently associates with fellow billionaires—demonstrated utter contempt for millions of Americans who struggle when visiting the grocery store. Essentially, he dismissed their struggles as unimportant, suggesting 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 falling when the taxes he imposed were increasing prices? Official statistics show the cost of bananas rose 6.9% over the past year, the price of beef climbed 14.7%, and coffee prices jumped 18.9%—in part because of punitive tariffs applied to Brazilian products. Between January and September, costs increased in five of the six food categories monitored by the government’s price index, including animal proteins (up 4.5%), non-alcoholic beverages (up 2.8%), and produce (up 1.3%).

Inconsistencies and Inaccuracies in Financial Claims

Despite these numbers, the president continues to push his big lie about affordability. Since election day, he has stated there is “almost no price increases,” declared “prices are way down,” and argued “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under his predecessor.” These statements contradict the fact that prices overall have unarguably risen after the previous administration. Currently, price growth is running at a 3 percent per year, which is half again as much than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent. In another falsehood, Trump claimed that fuel costs had dropped to nearly $2 a gallon, despite official data indicate they average $3.19.

Confronted by actual conditions and declining opinion polls, some Trump aides apparently cautioned that his “costs are falling” rhetoric portrayed him as dangerously out of touch from ordinary people. A lot of voters are angry about rising costs following assurances of reductions. As a result, advisers proposed one quick fix: reduce some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. The logical move clashed with the president’s unrealistic claim that additional taxes would not increase costs for American shoppers.

Proposed Fixes and Their Potential Effects

With some tariffs being rolled back on coffee, beef, tomatoes, and bananas, Trump will likely announce that he has cut prices once those foods start declining in price. This would be like an arsonist taking credit for putting out a fire that he had started. In another instance, when addressing fast-food leaders, Trump stated that “this is the golden age of America” and assured the audience that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” Such statements are easy for a billionaire to make, but seem insincere to countless households who are struggling—especially when millions risk losing food stamps or rising insurance costs.

According to a recent poll from October, three-quarters of respondents think economic conditions are fair or poor, while just a quarter consider them good or excellent. A separate survey found that 61% of Americans feel the administration’s actions have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Financial Reality and Suggested Steps

The treasury secretary, Trump’s top economic official, recently contradicted assertions of a prosperous era. He stated that far from booming, some parts of the US economy “have contracted.” Industrial production—which Trump vowed to save—appears to have contracted for multiple consecutive months and shed approximately tens of thousands of positions since January. Citing this weakness, Bessent called on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates—a move that could ease financial pressure.

Reacting to widespread concern about living costs, the president suggested a cash handout of “a payout of at least $2,000 a person” not for “high income people.” To numerous struggling Americans, this sounds like a financial lifeline, but it is unlikely that Congress—concerned about large shortfalls—will approve the proposal. This idea could increase federal spending, increase borrowing costs, and potentially drive prices higher by putting more money into the economy.

Another proposed solution for cost issues centered on creating half-century home loans, with the notion that they could lower housing costs. However, reality is that such lengthy loans would do little to lower monthly payments—often cutting them by a small amount per month. The drawback is that these loans could significantly increase the overall cost borrowers pay and hinder their accumulation of equity.

Faulting the Previous Administration and Financial Prospects

As part of their cost-cutting effort, Trump and his team have once more blamed the previous president for economic problems, such as rising prices. Officials claimed they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up the prior administration’s price hikes.” These are unfounded and untruthful claims. Actually, Biden handed over a strong economy, with low price growth, economic growth strong, and unemployment low. However, the current administration’s actions—particularly import taxes—have created an economic mess, pushing up prices and reducing economic output.

Per Mark Zandi, lead analyst at a research firm, 22 states are experiencing economic decline, with their conditions worsened by Trump’s tariffs. He worries that if large states like California and New York enter a downturn, the US could slide into a widespread recession. During recessions, people typically have less money to spend, and price increases usually declines. Sadly, with Trump’s much-ballyhooed cost initiative likely to do little to control costs, his primary method for achieving increased affordability might end up triggering an economic contraction—something that hard-pressed households really can’t afford.