President Donald Trump on Friday demanded that the Federal Reserve cut interest rates or he would cut off trade with countries that maintain trade deficits with the United States.
Trump made the ultimatum in a Truth Social post reacting to a stronger-than-expected monthly jobs report, urging the central bank and its chairman, Kevin Warsh, to "get smart" and lower rates. He wrote that employers added 162,000 jobs in August, "breaking all estimates" and argued that "a strong country means a lower interest rate."
In the post, Trump said that without the U.S. agreeing to allow other countries their trade surpluses, "they would no longer be considered financially ELITE," adding, "LOWER THE RATE OR I'LL STOP TRADING WITH COUNTRIES WITH WHICH WE HAVE A DEFICIT," which he said the U.S. Supreme Court "strongly acknowledged" is within the president's authority following its tariff decision. He called the move "better than tariffs."
The Fed declined to comment on the post. The U.S. currently runs large trade deficits with dozens of countries, including its top trading partners, and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for further information.
