President Donald Trump mixed two of his favorite pastimes, golf and attacking Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, in his latest Twitter storm Wednesday, calling out the Fed for holding the U.S. economy back.
Trump said “the only problem we have is Jay Powell and the Fed,” and then went on to compare Powell to a “golfer who can’t putt” and who has “no touch.”
…..We are competing with many countries that have a far lower interest rate, and we should be lower than them. Yesterday, “highest Dollar in U.S.History.” No inflation. Wake up Federal Reserve. Such growth potential, almost like never before!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 21, 2019
The “highest dollar in U.S. history” comment isn’t entirely true as the greenback did reach higher levels at the end of July. But the dollar is up 2.1% in 2019 when compared to many other global currencies, according to CNBC.
Trump has been calling on the Fed to cut interest rates to help stimulate the U.S. economy, but he has been especially persistent this week. On Monday, the president launched another Twitter salvo demanding that Powell and the Fed cut rates by a full 1% and restart quantitative easing.
Quantitative easing is a monetary policy that allows central banks to pump money directly into the economy through government bond purchases, and the Fed used it to help the U.S. recover from the Great Recession in 2008.
This wasn’t the first time Trump slapped the Fed with a golf insult, either. He targeted the entire central bank with a similar comment on Christmas Eve of 2018 after the U.S. stock market took a heavy loss.
The only problem our economy has is the Fed. They don’t have a feel for the Market, they don’t understand necessary Trade Wars or Strong Dollars or even Democrat Shutdowns over Borders. The Fed is like a powerful golfer who can’t score because he has no touch – he can’t putt!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 24, 2018
The Fed cut interest rates slightly by 25 basis points to a range of 2%-2.25% in July, and many analysts expect another cut to occur when the Federal Open Market Committee meets again Sept. 17-18. Some insight of what could occur during that September meeting may be gleaned Friday when Powell gives a keynote speech to central bankers from around the world at an annual meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.