The options were always:

A) go along with the affordability guy and upset maga grifters who will eventually fall in line. Plus if you switch later they will also.

B) say affordability is a democrat hoax and get Joe Biden’d by the media (which to be fair is 90% of what trump has done so far. )

Trump being a narcissist probably saw A as better because it also upsets chuck shumer / hakeem jeffries.