In latest attack, Trump says the Fed is a bigger problem for the US than China

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

• Trump escalated his criticism of the Federal Reserve on Thursday, even after it announced steps to insulate the economy from risks. 
• The central bank operates independent from political influence.
• But as he campaigns for re-election, Trump has called for negative interest rates and other aggressive measures to juice growth. 
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President Donald Trump lambasted the Federal Reserve once again Thursday, escalating criticism of the independent central bank even after it announced steps to insulate the economy from risks. 

“People are VERY disappointed in Jay Powell and the Federal Reserve,” the president wrote on Twitter. “The Fed has called it wrong from the beginning, too fast, too slow. They even tightened in the beginning. Others are running circles around them and laughing all the way to the bank.”

Trump sought to cast economic blame on the independent central bank, which he said was more of a ‘problem’ for the US than China. The Trump administration and the second-largest economy have been mired in a tit-for-tat tariff dispute since early 2018, which has increasingly weighed on businesses and consumers. 

The Fed lowered interest rates by a quarter percentage point on Wednesday as officials weighed solid fundamentals against a flurry of strains on the economy, including tariffs and a broader manufacturing slowdown. But the move did not appear to placate Trump, who has called for negative interest rates and other aggressive measures to juice growth. 

“Dollar & Rates are hurting…….our manufacturers,” Trump continued Thursday. “We should have lower interest rates than Germany, Japan and all others. We are now, by far, the biggest and strongest Country, but the Fed puts us at a competitive disadvantage.”

Ahead of the president’s re-election bid, the White House has ramped up an unprecedented pressure campaign on the Fed. Administration officials have attempted to place political allies at the top of the central bank and briefly looked into whether they could demote Fed Chairman Jay Powell, a frequent target of the president’s ire. 

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