Donald Trump Pressures Fed Chair Powell To Slash Rates
“This would be a PERFECT time for Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to cut Interest Rates. He is always ‘late,’ but he could now change his image, and quickly (sic),” Trump posted.
President Donald Trump called on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to slash interest rates, reiterating his longstanding desire for the central bank to keep rates low to stoke consumer demand.
“This would be a PERFECT time for Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to cut Interest Rates. He is always ‘late,’ but he could now change his image, and quickly,” Trump posted on Friday.
“Energy prices are down, Interest Rates are down, Inflation is down, even Eggs are down 69%, and Jobs are UP, all within two months - A BIG WIN for America. CUT INTEREST RATES, JEROME, AND STOP PLAYING POLITICS!,” he added.
Powell is scheduled to speak Friday near Washington. Presidents have traditionally refrained from commenting on Fed policy decisions, but Trump has long been willing to pressure the central bank to keep rates low.
Trump’s post came amid what could be the biggest stock market selloff since the 2020 pandemic, triggered by his decision to raise US tariffs to their highest levels in more than a century. Many investors and economists fear that the trade war could tip the global economy into a recession.
Earlier Friday, Trump reposted a video from a TikTok user suggesting the president was purposefully tanking financial markets as part of a grand strategy to force Powell to slash interest rates.
