America Can’t Afford Trump’s “Affordability”

Trump calls rising prices a lie, declares victory on affordability, and sells Americans a fantasy while tariffs, inflation, and broken promises silently bleed our wallets dry.

Guest article by Michael Cohen. Remember to follow him on Substack for more by clicking here. Michael is also racing to 500K followers on YouTube! Subscribe today for free here.

Donald Trump has never met a reality he couldn’t rewrite or a lie he couldn’t sell, but even by his standards, this new “affordability” shtick is next-level absurd. We’re now watching the same man who slapped tariffs on everything short of Girl Scout cookies try to rebrand himself as America’s coupon clipper-in-chief. He’s out there insisting that prices are down, that life under Trump is cheaper, that you’re somehow better off — even as you stand in the checkout line wondering how your grocery bill just hit a new personal best. It’s political gaslighting wrapped in discount rhetoric, and it’s about as believable as Trump promising to pay for the Big Beautiful Ballroom.

This is the same Trump who once bragged that tariffs “make America rich,” right before those same tariffs made everything from sneakers to cereal more expensive. The same Trump who oversaw record corporate consolidation, gutted consumer protections, and helped turn “middle class” into a nostalgic phrase, like “Blockbuster Video.” Now he’s out there insisting that prices are down. Sure, Mr. President. And I’m the Pope of Park Avenue.

Let’s get something straight: Trump’s newfound obsession with “affordability” is like a pyromaniac lecturing the fire department. His economic policies are the arsonists behind the very blaze he’s pretending to put out. He’s the guy who poured gasoline on inflation and now wants a medal for handing out paper cups of water.

When asked about the obvious — prices being up — Trump said, “No, no, prices are down under the Trump administration. And they’re down substantially.” Right. That’s like saying “crime is down” while you’re being mugged.

It’s gaslighting at a national scale — a reality distortion field so absurd it’d make Orwell’s head spin. But it’s also pure Trump: if you can’t fix it, deny it; if people don’t buy it, shout louder. And then, have your enablers repeat it over and over.

The con this time is trying to rebrand inflation as an illusion — a “fake news” creation. Never mind that the average American doesn’t need a Bureau of Labor Statistics report to know they’re paying more for groceries, utilities, rent, and car insurance. They just need to open their wallets and feel the draft.

Let’s not forget, Trump’s big economic “vision” has always been less about affordability and more about affluence — for him and his donors. Billionaires got tax breaks so massive they could probably buy small countries. Regular Americans got “trickle down,” which, as always, turned out to be an economic golden shower.

He’s now using “affordability” the same way he used “drain the swamp”: as a slogan to hide the fact that he’s the swamp thing himself. His administration has been the single greatest driver of inflated prices in decades, thanks in no small part to his love affair with tariffs. Those taxes on imported goods didn’t punish China; they punished you. Every trade war invoice landed right in the American consumer’s lap.

And yet, Trump keeps pointing to Walmart’s Thanksgiving basket, claiming it’s proof prices are down. He loves that example. Says it with pride. Only problem? Walmart’s basket shrunk — fewer items, smaller portions. It’s the economic equivalent of selling a Happy Meal without the fries and calling it a diet plan.

It’s classic Trump math: reduce what you get, charge more, then declare victory. It’s like buying a four-bedroom house and finding out one of the rooms is just a very large closet — but hey, “square footage is down substantially.”

Poll after poll shows Americans aren’t buying it. A CBS-YouGov poll found only 7% of Americans say prices are going down. Seven percent! That’s roughly the same number of people who think Elvis is alive. Even most Republicans — 57% — say Trump hasn’t done enough on prices.

But here’s the kicker: by trying to make “affordability” his issue, Trump has painted a bullseye on the one topic Americans feel most personally. You can debate border policy or climate change till the cows come home, but when someone’s grocery bill jumps from $120 to $160, that’s not politics; it’s pain.

And Trump owns that pain. He owns it every time a family chooses between heating their home and filling their tank. He owns it every time his tariff tantrums make American manufacturing more expensive. He owns it every time his “America First” policies end up meaning “Americans Pay First.”

The real irony? Trump’s attempt to gaslight America on affordability might just be his costliest mistake yet. You can’t sell people a fantasy about lower prices when their receipts tell a different story. You can’t call it “fake news” when your supporters are literally checking out at Walmart.

And in the end, Trump’s “affordability” crusade isn’t an economic plan; it’s performance art. A show for his base. A remix of his greatest hits: grievance, denial, and delusion. But this time, the audience isn’t laughing. They’re broke and pissed.

Because in Trump’s America, the only thing getting cheaper is the truth.

---

I KNOW IT’S SUNDAY… AND YOU’RE TRYING NOT TO THINK ABOUT MONDAY!

BUT RIGHT NOW IS THE TIME FOR YOU TO JOIN THE FIGHT!

PLEASE SUPPORT INDEPENDENT JOURNALISTS…

SUBSCRIBE. READ. LIKE. RESTACK.

Yeah, I know; you’re tired. This shit is exhausting.

Guess what? Me too.

But I’ve spent the last eight years throwing punches in the dark so truth could get a little daylight. And now I’m asking you to step into the ring with me.

Because if you’re still reading this, you already get it:
This isn’t just a newsletter. It’s a rallying cry. A war drum. A line in the sand.

We are not passive observers of the downfall. We are the resistance. We call out the liars. We drag corruption by the collar into the sunlight. We say the quiet parts out loud — and we don’t flinch.

But here’s the truth: I can’t do this solo. Not anymore.

The storm is already here. We are standing in it. And it’s wearing stars and stripes like camouflage, preaching “freedom” while it sells fascism at retail.

So let me ask you:
Are. You. In?

Because this is not a scroll-and-forget read. This is a living, breathing, fire-breathing movement — and movements don’t move unless you do.

We need to be louder than spin, tougher than propaganda, and impossible to gaslight.
That takes more than clicks. More than likes.
It takes skin in the game.

So if you believe truth matters — if you’re sick of the bullshit, if you’re ready to stop screaming into the algorithm and start pushing back with purpose — this is your next step.

HERE’S HOW YOU PUT YOUR FOOT ON THE GAS:

• Become a paid subscriber. Fund fearless, unfiltered journalism that hits back.

• Share this with the loudest people you know — the ones who never sit down and shut up.

• Build the community. Amplify the message. Be the damn megaphone.

And yeah — Founding Members? The first 240 of you will get a signed, numbered, limited-edition Substack version of Revenge. That’s not just a collector’s item. That’s receipts. Proof you didn’t sit this one out.

But let’s be clear:
This isn’t about a book.
It’s about backbone.
It’s about calling out the gaslighters and refusing to be played.
It’s about locking arms and saying, “Not. On. Our. Watch.”

You want to make a difference?
Then make it — right now.

Because if we don’t fight for truth, no one will.
But if we fight together?

They can’t drown us out.

Let’s be so loud, they wish we were just angry tweets.
Let’s be unshakable.
Unignorable.
Un-fucking-breakable.

Let’s go!