Following reports that President Donald Trump considered firing the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, he expressed confidence in him and the central bank, complaining nonetheless of the fast pace with which interest rates have been rising.
“Well, we’ll see,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday when asked about Powell. “They’re raising interest rates too fast. That’s my opinion. But I certainly have confidence. But I think it will straighten. They’re raising interest rates too fast because they think the economy is so good. But I think that they will get it pretty soon. I really do. I mean, the fact is that the economy is doing so well that they raised interest rates and that is a form of safety in a way.”
Last week, sources familiar with the President’s thinking said he was considering firing Powell. But Trump concluded over the weekend that it wasn’t within his power, according to tweets by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Bloomberg reports.
President Trump and his allies have blamed the turmoil in the stock market on the Fed’s interest-rate increases, expressing anger over it. Trump suggested his re-election campaign could be affected by higher rates.
“President Obama didn’t do much of that. Much easier to run when you have no interest rate. He had a really low-interest rate,” the President said.
According to Time, Trump also expressed confidence in Mnuchin, saying he is a “very talented guy, very smart person.”
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