Remarks
Trump Criticizes the Fed, Breaking Another Taboo
By agitating for low rates, the president could inadvertently cause them to rise
Federal Reserve Chairman Powell
Photographer: Andrew Harrer/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
After the stock market swooned in early February, I predicted difficulties for the Federal Reserve. “If this turns out to be more than a shudder,” I wrote, President Trump “may start looking for someone to blame. And that someone could be Jerome ‘Jay’ Powell, who was sworn in as Fed chairman on Feb. 5.”
The warning was premature. The stock market bounced back, and the U.S. economy has continued to perform well. That seemed to keep Trump at bay. Now, though, Trump is going after Powell even without any indication that interest-rate hikes by the Federal Reserve are harming growth.