President Trump urged the Federal Reserve Friday to lower interest rates to spur “unparalleled” growth, telling the central bank, “Don’t blow it!”
“This is our chance to build unparalleled wealth and success for the U.S., GROWTH, which would greatly reduce % debt,” the president tweeted.
The Fed will meet at the end of this month, when it’s widely expected to lower interest rates. The president has been criticizing Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and the board of governors for raising rates four times in 2018, saying it has prevented the economy from growing at an even faster pace.
Mr. Trump said there is almost no inflation, “but it is no thanks to the Federal Reserve.”
“Had they not acted so fast and ’so much,’ we would be doing even better than we are doing right now,” he said on Twitter. “Also must stop with the crazy quantitative tightening. We are in a World competition, & winning big.”
The president cited “the faulty thought process” at the Federal Reserve.
“We pay much higher interest rates than countries that are no match for us economically,” he said. “In other words, our interest costs are much higher than other countries, when they should be lower.”
In comments seen as a signal of rate cuts to come, New York Fed President John Williams said this week that he has learned policymakers cannot afford to keep their “powder dry” and wait for economic problems before taking action.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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