WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump sharply criticized the Federal Reserve's interest rate increase while expressing continued confidence in Fed Chair Kevin Warsh.
Speaking to reporters during a visit to North Carolina on the 16th, Trump said he had spoken with Warsh by phone before the Fed voted unanimously to raise rates. "I told him, 'The outcome isn't going to change anyway, so you may as well vote with the board. Do what you want,'" Trump said. "I trust Kevin, but he has a very difficult board," he added. "The Fed board is raising rates to put Trump in the worst possible position."
Trump's remarks were milder than his past attacks on former Chair Jerome Powell, whom he called "too late Jerome Powell" and "a fool who knows nothing" for refusing to cut rates.
At the same time, Trump revived his long-standing call for 1% interest rates. After the Fed's decision, he wrote on Truth Social that U.S. interest rates should be below 1%, because the country has by far the best credit in the world. In his comments to reporters, he repeated that rates are too high five times.
Trump also said the United States could earn at least $1.5 trillion a year if it halted trade with every country with which it runs a deficit, which he said covers most nations. "The word deficit is just an elegant way of saying loss," he said. "We are supporting almost every country in the world, and this situation can no longer continue."
