Trump Has Abandoned His Affordability Promises

“We can’t take care of day care. We’re a big country. We have 50 states. We have all these other people. We’re fighting wars,” he said during a private Easter luncheon at the White House. “It’s not possible for us to take care of day care, Medicaid, Medicare, all these individual things. They can do it on a state basis. You can’t do it on a federal. We have to take care of one thing: military protection. We have to guard the country.”

Across the political spectrum, American families disagree. Every day, Americans from different walks of life tell us they want many of the same things when it comes to care: options, affordability, more quality time with their families, and less stress. Eighty-eight percent of voters support expanding Medicare to include long-term care services. Eighty five percent of voters support increasing federal funding to states to help parents afford child care. 

During the last election, President Trump seemed to understand that care was the linchpin of affordability. One of us even asked then-candidate Trump what he would do to make child care more affordable, and his response went viral. 

“Childcare is childcare… you have to have it,” he said. “We’re going to make this into a country that can afford to take care of its people and then worry about the rest of the world.”

Instead of delivering on his promise to “make America affordable again,” Trump has undermined some of America's most basic care systems. The Trump Administration’s 2025 budget law cut federal health spending by more than $1 trillion, including major cuts to Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces. They also proposed eliminating Preschool Development Grants, while seeking additional cuts to family planning and maternal and child health programs. These cuts fuel an agenda mired in chaos, cruelty, and now foreign wars. The only thing consistent is President Trump’s inconsistency. 

America’s families are paying the price. Almost half of American families can’t afford basics like housing, food for their kids, or gas for their cars. And their number one expense? Care. 

Child care now costs more than housing in some states. Fifty-five percent of parents say they’ve gone into debt to pay for child-related expenses. When it comes to caring for aging and disabled loved ones, the cost of in-home long-term care has surged by 50% in the last 5 years. Last year alone, the price of home care increased by another 10%, more than three times the rate of inflation.

Since re-taking office, the President and his administration have gutted Medicaid, the largest source of funding for in-home care, instead funding violent ICE operations and giving billionaires huge tax breaks. That’s on top of Trump’s tariffs that have already raised families’ day-to-day expenses. 

Now, Trump has led the United States into a historically unpopular war with Iran that costs American taxpayers nearly $900 million per day. Meanwhile, American families pay more at the pump and brace themselves for the next upheaval. 

Trump is even asking Congress for $1.5 trillion to fund his war, paid for by cuts to health care, nutrition, medical research, and more. The President has raised the specter of fraud to justify deep cuts to programs like Medicaid and Medicare, but he’s the one running the biggest one: he ran on affordability and no new wars. Now, prices are up and we’re reading headlines about boots on the ground in Iran.

In 2025, candidates ran and won with care at the top of their affordability agendas. From Abigail Spanberger in Virginia to Zohran Mamdani in New York, families voted for candidates who promised to lower the cost of child care and finally make paid family and medical leave a reality. This spring, state legislatures have also taken action. The Georgia State Senate just voted unanimously on an expansion of maternity leave for state employees, and West Virginia is now offering tax credits to businesses that offer their employees child care. 

This isn’t happening by accident. It’s happening because 130 million caregiving families and parents in red and blue states alike are coming together and demanding it. That includes over 38 million family caregivers who live in states that Trump won in the last election. They are making it clear with their votes and voices that the President is wrong. We are a big country, which means we absolutely can afford to take care of our children, help our aging and disabled loved ones live independently and with dignity, and make sure workers don’t lose pay because they’re seriously ill or welcoming a new child. We just need leaders willing to prioritize our families and then get to work.

For a President elected on the promise of putting America First, Trump is instead putting America last. Voters want funding for care, not foreign wars. And in November, they’ll have their say at the ballot box.