, Columnist
Trump Uses the Wrong Tool to Influence the Fed
Tweets and criticism won’t affect policy. Picking board nominees who share his views will.
Chair Jerome Powell has his own views.
Photographer: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
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Nineteen months into his term, President Donald Trump demonstrated again that he doesn’t understand his job.
In an interview with Reuters on Monday, he reiterated his criticism of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate increases. His comments break with a fairly recently established norm of presidents refraining from infringing on the central bank’s independence. But if Trump is trying to influence the Fed, he is neglecting the best tool a president has: the power to pick members of the Board of Governors.