Trump launches new campaign against Fed President Jerome Powell



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The Fed chairman "seems almost happy to raise interest rates," said the president. He also told the newspaper that it was "too early to say, but perhaps" that he regretted having appointed Powell to the post.

Michelle Smith, a spokeswoman for the Fed, declined to comment on Trump's remarks on Tuesday.

For decades, presidents have refrained from commenting on the Fed, a position taken to avoid compromising its independence and credibility with financial markets.

In the run-up to the mid-term elections, Trump urged voters to manage their economy. He plunged Washington into a frenzy this week promising to introduce a new round of tax cuts before the mid-session, thus expanding on the historic tax reform of last year.

But the president recently expressed his frustration at the Fed's gradual interest rate hikes, designed to slow the economy and prevent inflation from taking off – classic macroeconomic measures that, Trump insists, insist on reducing its expansionary fiscal measures.

Earlier this month, while investors had dumped their shares due to concerns over rising interest rates, Trump said the central bank "is launching" and was "out of control".

Obama Comparison

Trump complained Tuesday to the newspaper that former President Barack Obama – who took office at the height of the recession for decades – is not coping with the burden of rising wages. interest rate.

Trump and Kudlow sing different tunes on the Fed in the face of the market crash

"I'm just saying this: I am very unhappy with the Fed because Obama had no interest rates," Trump told the newspaper.

After the outbreak of the financial crisis in 2008, the Fed kept its rates at historically low levels to revive the struggling economy. It began to rise slowly again in 2015, when the economy picked up steam under Obama, and multiplied by six. Three of those increases came from Powell, a Fed chairman sitting on Wall Street, widely respected and chosen by Trump to succeed Janet Yellen, Obama's choice.
Before choosing Powell, however, Trump promised to rename Yellen, crediting her for helping to boost the stock market.

As for other staff changes, the president asked the Fed to choose a reality show, asking Fox presenter Lou Dobbs to share his recommendation with him in a television interview. (Dobbs approved Yellen.)

Yellen says Fed criticism is not good

Economists have generally attributed Powell a high score for its performance, saying the Fed was acting wisely by gradually returning monetary policy to normal levels after the worst recession of the past 75 years.

Yellen defends the Fed against Trump's attacks

The central bank is trying to calm the economy to the hottest after the tax cuts and soaring expenses fueled by Washington 's debt. Rate increases are also designed to support the economy in the next economic downturn. This is particularly important because the federal government's growing budget deficit could make borrowing more difficult to fight the recession.

Yellen defended his performance at a mortgage bankers conference in Washington last week and suggested that Trump should back down.

"I really think it's not advisable for a president to comment so explicitly on Fed policy," she said. "Obviously, the chairpersons can speak out if they want to and give their opinion on the policy to be followed.There is no law against that, but I do not think it's wise and I think the Fed has a solid reputation for acting independently and non-government politically, and I would not want to see that reputation damaged. "

Trump's former economic advisor, Gary Cohn, repeated this point of view the same week. He had already been considered as a candidate for the presidency of the Fed under the presidency of Trump.

When asked about CNBC when he thought the chair should be weighted, Mr. Cohn replied, "I do not think he should comment on a federal agency." "

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