{"id":22627,"date":"2026-05-18T16:43:05","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T20:43:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/?p=22627"},"modified":"2026-05-18T17:25:56","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T21:25:56","slug":"will-affordability-bankrupt-president-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2026\/05\/18\/will-affordability-bankrupt-president-trump\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Affordability Bankrupt President Trump?"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

\"\"<\/a>Will Affordability Bankrupt President Trump?<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/h1>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

by James Bovard<\/p>\r\n

Last week, President Trump proudly declared: \u201cI don\u2019t think about Americans\u2019 financial situations. I don\u2019t think about anybody.” Will his arrogance seal his political doom?\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In early 2022, I predicted in the New York Post <\/em>that inflation would politically bankrupt President Joe Biden. Will the affordability issue similarly bankrupt President Donald Trump?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Trump constantly blusters as if he deserves the Nobel Prize for Economic Triumphs, just like he supposedly deserved the Nobel Peace Prize.<\/strong> In a January speech in Iowa, he doubled down on his triumphs by referring to himself in the third person: \u201cJust after one year of President Trump, our economy is booming…. Incomes are rising. Investment is soaring. Inflation has been defeated.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Unfortunately, Trump\u2019s record on the economy is as shaky as his claims that he ended eight wars. The core wholesale inflation rate rose in January at an annual rate of 9 percent. \u201cHowl louder\u201d has been the president\u2019s response.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Beginning late last year, the affordability issue made Trump schizophrenic.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to hear about the affordability!\u201d Trump declared in a Fox News interview in November after falsely claiming that the cost of a

After Democratic candidates bludgeoned their Republican opponents with the issue in the

But a week later, at a White House meeting, Trump relapsed, revealing that the issue of affordability was a \u201choax\u201d and a \u201cDemocrat scam.\u201d Did he reach this conclusion by surveying members of his Mar-a-Lago club or what?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In his

The same people in this chamber who voted for those disasters [such as the Green New Deal] suddenly used the word affordability, a word, they just used it because somebody gave it to them, knowing full well that they caused and created the increased prices that all of our citizens had to endure. You caused that problem. You caused that problem. They knew their statements were a lie, they knew it, they knew their statements were a dirty, rotten lie. Their policies created the high prices. Our policies are rapidly ending them. We are doing really well. Those prices are plummeting downward.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

When Trump spoke in Iowa, rally attendees dutifully held up signs made by the Trump campaign team proclaiming: \u201cLower prices.\u201d Gasoline prices had\u00a0 fallen sharply since a year ago, but after you fill up your tank, life often feels Bidenesque.\u00a0 But gas prices soared after Trump started a war with Iran.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Illusory victories\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In an

Some of Trump\u2019s greatest victories do not exist beyond his imagination.<\/strong> Trump proclaimed in November that \u201cour groceries [prices] are way down.\u201d But that is true only if people only eat eggs. Egg prices have fallen but that was largely due to the end of the avian flu outbreak. Grocery prices are up about three percent over the past year, and prices for coffee, beef, and other items have soared. Is Trump adopting the Joe Biden proof of prosperity: \u201cDon\u2019t believe your lying eyes at the grocery checkout!?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed victory over inflation in November based on a DoorDash \u201cBreakfast Basics Index\u201d report that showed a 14 percent decline in the \u201ccost of three eggs, a glass of milk, a bagel and an avocado.\u201d Damn few Trump supporters get DoorDash avocado deliveries for breakfast. DoorDash\u2019s deal is no solace for people pummeled by the 30 percent increase in coffee prices and the 18 percent increase in orange prices since Trump took office.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Is the Trump administration now targeting its economic message solely to people who failed mathematics? On Truth Social, Trump proclaimed, \u201cDRUG PRICES ARE FALLING AT LEVELS NEVER SEEN BEFORE, 500%, 600%, 700%, and more.\u201d Actually, drug prices cannot fall more than 100 percent unless people are getting bribed to swallow the free pills.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

But it\u2019s worse than that. Prescription drug prices actually increased roughly two percent in 2025, according to federal data. Trump did cajole price cuts for Ozempic and similar drugs \u2014 what Trump called \u201cthe fat drug, F-A-T, for fat people.\u201d But that wasn\u2019t sufficient to reduce drug prices overall.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Trump declared: \u201cWe now are paying the lowest price anywhere in the world for drugs.\u201d It is unclear whether Trump believes this utter buncombe. Some prescription drugs cost ten times more in the United States than in Canada.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Trump\u2019s tariff mania<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Trump never tires of reminding audiences: \u201cMy favorite word is tariff.\u201d In January, he announced at the Detroit Economic Club: \u201cThe evidence shows overwhelmingly that the tariffs are not paid by American consumers.\u201d But Trump\u2019s speech texts are not the dispositive evidence on this score. A report early this year by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York estimated that \u201cAmericans paid about 90% of the costs for Trump\u2019s tariffs.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In a Wall Street Journal <\/em>article earlier this year, Trump declared that his high tariffs \u201chave created an American economic miracle, and we are quickly building the greatest economy in the history of the world.\u201d Trump\u2019s tariffs are working out great for his big campaign donors, but most Americans are being left behind. Almost 70 percent of Americans believe that Trump\u2019s tariffs have already boosted the prices they are paying. Trump\u2019s tariff policies also helped spur a 15-year high in corporate bankruptcies nationwide. When the Supreme Court struck down Trump\u2019s tariffs as illegal, Trump haughtily responded by denouncing the justices and promising to inflict heavy tariffs regardless of their verdict.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Trump talks as if tariff revenue constitutes magic beans that multiply every time Trump makes a wish. In his State of the Union address, he declared, \u201cAs time goes by, I believe the tariffs, paid for by foreign countries, will, like in the past, substantially replace the modern-day system of income tax, taking a great financial burden off the people that I love.\u201d But even with the sky-high tariffs Trump has imposed, federal income tax revenue was seven times higher than tariff revenue. And much of that tariff revenue will likely be refunded.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Will Trump also promise to give everyone a free pony?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n


At a White House event, the \u201cFreedom Means Affordable Cars\u201d deregulation initiative<\/strong> was unveiled that could eventually trim a thousand dollars off new car prices. Trump promised it will \u201cmake buying a car much more affordable.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

But any future regulatory relief is dwarfed by the wallop from Trump\u2019s tariffs.<\/strong> Prices for new autos reached a record $50,080 in September \u2014 almost a 4 percent increase since the prior year. Volkswagen raised\u00a0 prices up to 6.5 percent for new models. \u201cShoppers can expect [Trump\u2019s] tariffs to increase car prices by as much as $6,000 on vehicles priced under $40,000,\u201d Kelley Blue Book<\/em> reported in September.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Affordability gimmicks<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Almost all the Trump \u201caffordability\u201d gimmicks are bad public policy. The tax deductions for interest rates for purchases of new cars made in America encourage people to go further into debt for a consumption item. Roughly 30 percent of the trade-ins for new cars last year were \u201cunderwater\u201d \u2014 meaning the cars were worth less than what was owed on the original purchase years earlier. As a Washington Post<\/em> headline warned: \u201cWhy you may just be renting your car even if you have a loan.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Also, Trump might wreck your car engine in order to scarf up votes from corn farmers.<\/strong> When Trump spoke in Iowa, he promised farmers that he would authorize the selling of 15 percent ethanol for auto fuel the year round. That level of ethanol is notorious for ruining auto engines and sabotaging clean air. The Congressional Budget Office admitted in 1995, \u201cEthanol evaporates quickly, especially in hot weather, contributing to ozone pollution.\u201d Stanford University\u2019s Mark Jacobson estimated in 2007 that the use of high ethanol fuel \u201cmay increase ozone-related mortality, hospitalization, and asthma by about 9% in Los Angeles and 4% in the United States as a whole relative to 100% gasoline.\u201d In 2018, when Trump sought 15 percent ethanol, the Sierra Club denounced him for \u201conce again ignoring Americans\u2019 health and safety. Despite claims, corn ethanol is not a safe and environmentally-friendly fuel source \u2014 it is hugely detrimental to the environment and public health.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The mirage of home ownership\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

To entitle Trump to continue blustering, the president wants citizens to abandon part of the American dream. I<\/strong> was raised in the Appalachian mountains, where people had fierce pride on owning their own abode. You were \u201credneck rich\u201d if your home was paid off \u2014 even if it was only a rough-hewn cabin and a few acres of land way up the hollow.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Young would-be homebuyers are hard squeezed nowadays. Instead of Marie Antoinette\u2019s \u201cLet them eat cake,\u201d Trump\u2019s solution is \u201clet them be serfs.\u201d Trump is championing 50-year mortgages, which mean that most borrowers could never own their residence \u2014 or not take title until after they retired. Trump touted his 50-year mortgage plan: \u201cIt\u2019s not even a big deal!… From 30 [year mortgages], some people had a 40, and now they have a 50…. It\u2019s not like a big factor!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Will Trump adapt the odious saying of the World Economic Forum: \u201cYou will own nothing and be happy\u201d? Or maybe Trump would recommend that average Americans solve their housing crunch by conniving to use eminent domain to seize prized urban lots at fire-sale prices \u2014 as Trump did in Atlantic City, New Jersey.\u00a0 Amazingly, even after Trump effectively looted hapless landowners, his casinos in Atlantic City still went bankrupt three different times.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Millions of Americans are feeling like their path to the middle class is blocked by sky-high housing prices. Trump promised to fix the housing crisis during his 2024 campaign, but he declared in early 2026, \u201cI want to drive housing prices up for the people who own their homes.\u201d And then he inflicted a cheap shot: \u201cWe\u2019re not going to destroy the value of their homes so that somebody who didn\u2019t work very hard can buy a home.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Federal policies and artificially cheap credit have sent housing prices far above levels that would otherwise prevail. And then Trump comes along and sneers at the victims of federal policies he helped unleash. Many young folks are working two or three jobs to try to save money for a downpayment for their first house. And then Trump comes along and sneers at all of their hustling.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Making America less affordable\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Trump has already lost the support of many people who voted for him in

Trump\u2019s economic victory proclamations are starting to resemble a bad magician whose tricks are so lame that his audience starts to heckle him.<\/strong> But in his Wall Street Journal<\/em> op-ed, Trump concluded by telling tariff skeptics to wear \u201cone of my favorite red hats \u2014 the one that reads, \u2018TRUMP WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING!\u2019\u201d But do those wildly overpriced baseball caps \u2014 selling for $55 at the Official Trump Store \u2014 come with a money-back guarantee in case Trump drives the economy into a ditch? Or you could hedge your risks by going for the $17 knock-off version of the hat made in China and sold by Amazon.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Will Trump doom his presidency by sneering and seeking to make people feel unpatriotic for complaining that his policies are slashing their family\u2019s living standard<\/strong>? Perhaps Trump\u2019s biggest handicap now is that he is no longer running against \u201csleepy Joe Biden.\u201d Instead, Trump is going up against reality. Trump cannot obliterate economic statistics the same way he ridicules \u201clow IQ\u201d congresswomen or unsmiling reporters.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

James Bovard is a policy advisor to The Future of Freedom Foundation and is the author of the ebook <\/em>Freedom Frauds: Hard Lessons in American Liberty<\/a>, published by FFF, his new book,<\/em> Last Rights: The Death of American Liberty, and nine other books.<\/em><\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Will Affordability Bankrupt President Trump? by James Bovard Last week, President Trump proudly declared: \u201cI don\u2019t think about Americans\u2019 financial situations. I don\u2019t think about anybody.” Will his arrogance seal his political doom?\u00a0 In early 2022, I predicted in the New York Post that inflation would politically bankrupt President Joe Biden. Will the affordability issue […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21410,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[4710,4835,2124,3623,371,4834,4832,215,4833,710,27,443,708],"class_list":["post-22627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-affordability","tag-avocado-toast","tag-biden","tag-coffee","tag-delusions","tag-downpayment","tag-eggs","tag-ethanol","tag-fat","tag-inflation","tag-lying","tag-tariffs","tag-trump"],"yoast_head":"\nWill Affordability Bankrupt President Trump? - James Bovard<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Trump's high tariffs and other policies are propelling inflation, potentially dooming his presidency just like happened to Biden\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2026\/05\/18\/will-affordability-bankrupt-president-trump\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Will Affordability Bankrupt President Trump? 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The Wall Street Journal called Bovard \"the roving inspector general of the modern state\" and Washington Post columnist George Will called him a \"one-man truth squad.\" His 1994 book, Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty, received the Free Press Association\u2019s Mencken Award as Book of the Year. His Terrorism & Tyranny won the Lysander Spooner \"Best Book on Liberty in 2003\" award. He received the Thomas Szasz Award for Civil Liberties work, awarded by the Center for Independent Thought and the Freedom Fund Award from the Firearms Civil Rights Defense Fund of the National Rifle Association. 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