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Throughout last year's presidential campaign, the former president wooed voters with promises to reduce costs starting on day one. However, once he assumed office, he seemed to pay precious little attention to the cost of living. All that changed after inflation-weary citizens delivered a rebuke at the polls. Within days, his team initiated a hastily assembled effort to address affordability. Unfortunately, the drive has proven a hot mess—filled with illogical claims, inconsistencies, unrealistic expectations, scapegoating, and Trumpian dishonesty.

Detached Claims and Grocery Store Reality

Merely 48 hours after the election, Trump began his affordability drive with a disastrous remark: “Food prices are way down. Everything is way down… So I don’t want to hear about the cost of living.” This comment from the wealthy leader—often mingles with fellow billionaires—demonstrated utter contempt for millions of Americans who struggle every time they go the grocery store. In effect, he dismissed their struggles as trivial, implying they had it wrong about actual costs.

His assertion about declining prices was absurdly obtuse and inaccurate. How could every price be decreasing when his cherished tariffs were increasing costs? Recent data show the cost of bananas rose nearly 7% over the past year, the price of beef went up 14.7%, and the cost of coffee surged by nearly 19%—partly due to punitive tariffs on Brazil’s coffee and beef. Between January and September, prices rose in five of the six food categories tracked by the Consumer Price Index, such as meats, poultry, and fish (rising over 4%), non-alcoholic beverages (increasing nearly 3%), and fruits and vegetables (rising slightly).

Inconsistencies and Inaccuracies in Financial Statements

In spite of the evidence, Trump continues to push his big lie about lower costs. Since election day, he has claimed there is “virtually no inflation,” insisted “costs have fallen significantly,” and asserted “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” Such remarks ignore the fact that general costs have clearly increased since Biden left office. At present, price growth is running at a 3% annual rate, which is 50% higher than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent. In another falsehood, he boasted that gas prices had fallen to around two dollars, despite government figures indicate they average $3.19.

Faced with reality and declining opinion polls, advisers apparently warned that his “prices are down” message made him sound dangerously out of touch from ordinary people. Many voters are frustrated about rising costs after assurances of reductions. As a result, advisers proposed one quick fix: reduce some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. This sensible idea contradicted Trump’s absurd assertion that new tariffs would not increase costs for US consumers.

Proposed Fixes and Their Potential Effects

As some tariffs reduced on several food items, the administration will probably announce that he has cut prices once those foods begin to fall in price. This would be like an arsonist boasting for putting out a blaze that he ignited. In another instance, when addressing fast-food leaders, Trump declared that “we are in the peak period of America” and told the audience that “prices are coming down and all of that stuff.” Such statements come naturally for a wealthy individual to make, but they ring hollow to countless households who are struggling—especially when millions risk losing food stamps or rising insurance costs.

According to a recent poll conducted last fall, three-quarters of respondents believe the state of the economy are fair or poor, while just a quarter consider them good or excellent. Another poll found that 61% of Americans feel Trump’s policies have “worsened economic conditions” in the country.

Financial Reality and Suggested Steps

Scott Bessent, the president’s top economic official, recently disputed claims of a golden age. He noted that instead of thriving, certain sectors of the US economy “are in recession.” Industrial production—which Trump vowed to save—seems to have shrunk for multiple consecutive months and shed around tens of thousands of positions since January. Citing these challenges, Bessent called on the Federal Reserve to reduce borrowing costs—an action that could help affordability.

Reacting to widespread concern about living costs, the president proposed a direct payment of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” excluding “high income people.” For many struggling Americans, this sounds like a financial lifeline, but the prospects are dim that lawmakers—already alarmed about large shortfalls—will approve such a plan. This idea could increase federal spending, push up interest rates, and possibly fuel inflation by injecting cash into consumers’ pockets.

A further proposed solution for affordability involved creating 50-year mortgages, based on the idea that this would lower housing costs. But, the truth is that 50-year mortgages have minimal impact to lower monthly payments—often cutting them by just $100 or $200 each month. The downside is that these loans could significantly increase the total interest homeowners pay and slow building home value.

Faulting the Past Government and Financial Prospects

As part of their cost-cutting effort, the administration have once more pointed fingers at the previous president for financial challenges, including increasing costs. Spokespeople stated they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up the prior administration’s price hikes.” This is absurd and untruthful allegations. Actually, Biden handed over 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 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 such as major economies enter a downturn, the US could slide into a broad economic slump. In downturns, people generally possess less money to spend, and inflation often falls. Sadly, given the highly-touted cost initiative likely to do little to control costs, his most effective “tool” for achieving increased affordability might end up triggering an economic contraction—something that hard-pressed households cannot handle.