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President Donald Trump pressed the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday to lower interest rates, arguing it would cushion the blow of his tariff policies, reigniting his public clash with the central bank’s direction.
In a late-night post on Truth Social, he insisted that the Fed should “do the right thing,” a pointed jab that came just hours after the bank opted to keep rates unchanged, while simultaneously downgrading its growth projections and raising its inflation estimates.
The Fed has mapped out two potential rate reductions for the year, but its chairman, Jerome Powell, cautioned that “uncertainty today is unusually elevated” and highlighted a creeping rise in inflation. Economists have increasingly voiced concerns that Trump’s tariffs—already sparking retaliatory trade measures from some nations—could push the US economy, and possibly others, toward a recession.
Trump, for his part, has acknowledged that his planned levies might cause “a little disturbance” to the economy but maintained that the nation stands on the brink of what he described as a “golden age.”
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In Wednesday’s message, he again stressed that April 2, when he plans to enact “reciprocal tariffs” designed to reset global trade, would be a “liberation day” for the US economy.
But he wants US interest rates to come down as well.
“The Fed would be MUCH better off CUTTING RATES as US Tariffs start to transition (ease!) their way into the economy,” he posted.
Throughout his initial term, President Donald Trump frequently voiced his frustration with the Federal Reserve’s interest rate choices, pushing for reductions to stimulate economic growth.
