Throughout last year's presidential campaign, the former president wooed voters with pledges to lower prices immediately upon taking office. However, after his inauguration, he seemed to pay precious little attention to the cost of living. All that changed after price-fatigued citizens delivered a rebuke at the polls. Within days, his team initiated a hastily assembled effort to tackle affordability. Unfortunately, the drive has proven a disorganized endeavor—characterized by absurdity, inconsistencies, unrealistic expectations, scapegoating, and Trumpian dishonesty.
Just two days post-election, Trump began his cost-reduction push with a disastrous remark: “Our groceries are way down. All items is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” These words from billionaire Trump—often associates with fellow billionaires—revealed utter contempt for everyday citizens facing difficulties every time they go supermarkets. Essentially, he ignored their concerns as unimportant, implying they had it wrong about actual costs.
His assertion about declining prices was absurdly obtuse and dishonest. How could all costs be decreasing when his cherished tariffs were increasing prices? Recent data show the cost of bananas increased 6.9% in the last twelve months, the price of beef went up almost 15%, and coffee prices jumped 18.9%—in part due to import taxes applied to Brazilian products. In the first three quarters, prices rose in the majority of main grocery groups monitored by the government’s price index, such as meats, poultry, and fish (up 4.5%), drinks (increasing nearly 3%), and fruits and vegetables (up 1.3%).
In spite of the evidence, Trump continues to push his big lie about affordability. After the vote, he has stated there is “virtually no inflation,” insisted “prices are way down,” and asserted “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” Such remarks contradict the reality that general costs have clearly increased since Biden left office. At present, price growth is at a 3% annual rate, which is half again as much than the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal. Adding to the inaccuracies, he claimed that fuel costs had dropped to nearly $2 a gallon, even though government figures show they average $3.19.
Faced with actual conditions and lower approval ratings, advisers evidently cautioned that his “costs are falling” message made him sound disconnected from ordinary people. Many citizens are angry about rising costs following promises of reductions. In response, advisers proposed one quick fix: reduce some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. This sensible idea clashed with the president’s unrealistic claim that new tariffs would not increase costs for US consumers.
As certain taxes being rolled back on coffee, beef, tomatoes, and bananas, the administration will likely announce that he has cut prices once these products start declining in price. This would be like an arsonist taking credit for extinguishing a fire that he had started. On another occasion, while speaking McDonald’s executives, he stated that “this is the golden age of America” and assured the audience that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” These comments come naturally for a wealthy individual to make, but they ring hollow to countless households who are struggling—especially when many risk losing food stamps or skyrocketing health premiums.
According to a survey conducted last fall, 74% of Americans believe the state of the economy are mediocre or bad, while only 26% rate them good or excellent. A separate survey showed that a majority of citizens say the administration’s actions have “made the economy worse” in the country.
Scott Bessent, Trump’s chief financial officer, recently contradicted claims of a golden age. He noted that far from booming, some parts of the US economy “have contracted.” The manufacturing sector—a priority for the administration—appears to have contracted for eight months in a row and shed approximately 33,000 jobs since January. Citing these challenges, the secretary urged the central bank to cut interest rates—an action that could help affordability.
In response to widespread concern about affordability, Trump proposed a direct payment of “a payout of at least $2,000 a person” not for “high income people.” For many struggling Americans, this sounds like manna from heaven, but the prospects are dim that lawmakers—already alarmed about large shortfalls—will approve such a plan. The scheme could raise government expenditure, increase interest rates, and potentially drive prices higher by putting more money into consumers’ pockets.
Another supposed fix for cost issues involved introducing 50-year mortgages, 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 mortgages could more than double the overall cost borrowers pay and slow their accumulation of equity.
As part of their cost-cutting effort, Trump and his team have once more blamed Biden for economic problems, including rising prices. Officials claimed they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up Biden’s inflation.” This is unfounded and untruthful allegations. Actually, the former president left a robust economic situation, with inflation way down, economic growth strong, and minimal joblessness. But, Trump’s policies—especially import taxes—have created an economic mess, pushing up prices and slowing GDP growth.
According to an economist, chief economist at a research firm, numerous regions are already in recession, with their economies damaged by Trump’s tariffs. Zandi fears that if large states such as California and New York enter a downturn, the US could face a widespread recession. In downturns, people typically have reduced funds to spend, and inflation usually declines. Unfortunately, given Trump’s much-ballyhooed affordability campaign probably ineffective to control costs, his primary method for achieving increased affordability might prove to be pushing the nation into recession—something that struggling Americans cannot handle.
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