President Trump on Wednesday blamed the Federal Reserve board for raising interest rates to 3.75 to 4 percent—the first hike in three years—while singling out Fed Chair Kevin Warsh for praise.
Trump told reporters in North Carolina that he relies on Warsh but described the board as "very tough" and "very hostile." He accused board members of acting like "a bunch of politicians" and "doing the wrong thing."
"I told Kevin, I said, 'You might as well vote with the board because it's just not going to matter,'" Trump said. He noted that board members were appointed by "a lot of other people."
Trump called the new rate too high. "It's a shame because it's too high an interest rate," he said, though he contended the country is succeeding "despite that" because it is "doing so well."
Earlier Wednesday, Trump posted on Truth Social that the U.S. interest rate should be "1 percent or less, because we are the Best Credit in the World – BY FAR."
In the same post, Trump claimed that if the United States stopped trading with every country where it runs a deficit, it would gain "at least 1.5 Trillion Dollars a year." He argued the U.S. is "carrying nearly every country" and said "that cannot go on any longer."
Fed Chair Warsh offered a different rationale for the board's unanimous decision, saying it will "support a timelier return" to the Fed's 2 percent inflation target.
