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Throughout the previous race for the White House, Donald Trump courted the electorate with promises to reduce prices starting on day one. But, once his inauguration, he seemed to pay precious little attention to the cost of living. All that changed following inflation-weary voters expressed dissatisfaction at the polls. Shortly thereafter, the Trump administration launched a slapdash campaign to tackle living costs. Unfortunately, this initiative is a hot mess—characterized by absurdity, contradictions, magical thinking, blame-shifting, and misleading statements.

Detached Assertions and Grocery Store Reality

Just two days after the election, the president kicked off 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—who frequently associates with other ultra-rich individuals—demonstrated a lack of empathy for everyday citizens facing difficulties when visiting supermarkets. In effect, he ignored their struggles as trivial, implying they were mistaken about actual costs.

This statement about declining prices proved highly misleading and dishonest. How could all costs be decreasing when his cherished tariffs were pushing up prices? Recent data show banana prices rose nearly 7% over the past year, the price of beef climbed almost 15%, and the cost of coffee surged 18.9%—in part due to import taxes applied to Brazilian products. In the first three quarters, costs increased in five of the six food categories monitored by the government’s price index, such as meats, poultry, and fish (up 4.5%), drinks (increasing nearly 3%), and produce (rising slightly).

Contradictions and Falsehoods in Economic Statements

Despite the evidence, Trump continues to push his big lie about affordability. Since election day, he has stated there is “virtually no inflation,” declared “costs have fallen significantly,” and argued “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” These statements contradict the fact that general costs have unarguably risen after the previous administration. At present, price growth is at a 3% annual rate, that’s 50% higher than the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal. Adding to the inaccuracies, he claimed that gas prices had dropped to around two dollars, despite government figures indicate they are over three dollars.

Confronted by actual conditions and declining opinion polls, advisers apparently cautioned that his “prices are down” message made him sound disconnected from ordinary people. 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 some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. This sensible idea contradicted the president’s unrealistic claim that additional taxes wouldn’t raise prices for US consumers.

Proposed Solutions and Their Possible Effects

With certain taxes reduced on several food items, Trump will likely announce that he has cut prices once those foods start declining in price. This would be like an arsonist boasting for putting out a fire that he had started. In another instance, when addressing fast-food leaders, he stated that “we are in the golden age of America” and assured the audience that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” These comments come naturally for a billionaire to make, but seem insincere to countless households facing hardships—particularly when millions face cuts to nutrition assistance or rising insurance costs.

Per a survey from October, 74% of Americans believe economic conditions are fair or poor, while only 26% consider them good or excellent. A separate survey found that 61% of Americans say the administration’s actions have “worsened economic conditions” in the country.

Economic Truth and Proposed Measures

The treasury secretary, Trump’s chief financial officer, recently contradicted claims of a prosperous era. He noted that instead of thriving, some parts of the US economy “are in recession.” Industrial production—a priority for the administration—seems to have shrunk for multiple consecutive months and shed approximately tens of thousands of positions since January. Pointing to this weakness, Bessent called on the central bank to reduce borrowing costs—an action that could ease financial pressure.

Reacting to public dismay about living costs, the president suggested a cash handout of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” excluding “the wealthy.” To numerous struggling Americans, it seems like manna from heaven, but it is unlikely that lawmakers—concerned about huge budget deficits—will enact such a plan. The scheme could increase federal spending, push up borrowing costs, and potentially drive prices higher by injecting cash into the economy.

Another supposed fix for cost issues involved creating half-century home loans, based on the idea that they could lower housing costs. However, the truth is that such lengthy loans would do little to lower monthly payments—frequently cutting them by just $100 or $200 per month. The drawback is that these loans could more than double the overall cost homeowners pay and hinder their accumulation of equity.

Blaming the Past Government and Financial Prospects

As part of their cost-cutting effort, Trump and his team have again blamed the previous president for economic problems, such as increasing costs. Officials claimed they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “addressing Biden’s inflation.” This is unfounded and inaccurate claims. Actually, the former president handed over a strong economy, with low price growth, economic growth strong, and minimal joblessness. But, the current administration’s actions—especially his tariffs—have resulted in an difficult situation, pushing up prices and slowing GDP growth.

Per Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, 22 states are already in recession, with their economies damaged by Trump’s tariffs. Zandi worries that if large states such as California and New York tumble into recession, the nation could slide into a broad economic slump. In downturns, consumers generally possess less money to spend, and inflation often falls. Unfortunately, with the highly-touted affordability campaign probably ineffective to hold down prices, his primary method for achieving increased affordability might prove to be pushing the nation into recession—something that struggling Americans cannot handle.