I hope these congress members are holding town hall meetings while they are on vacation. They need to hear from the public and take our concerns back to DC.
We cant wait till the economy collapses before we start to do something. Trump and Moscow Mitch should not be able to destroy our lives. Farmers are never going to get their markets back. Telling US companies who to do business with, he is the second coming of Jesus. This man is unhinged .
It is clear that Trump is ignorant and need not be in office.
6
Here's hoping that Mr. Powell remains the "enemy" of the Trump administration economic stupidity.
If it was up to Peter Navarro, we'd be in a deep recession already.
Cut Rates is the opposite of strong economy. I guess Navarro attended Trump University.
3
Powell is a patriot who is try to save our country from an economic madman!
7
Welcome to the "Enemy of the People" Club, Jerome.
4
I hope the Fed Chair has one of those bulletproof backpacks the kids all have now.
4
Who's America's greatest enemy? Unquestionably, Donald Trump.
8
Using trump talk I want to report that some people are saying a joke , maybe it's it's not a joke , not sure but I'm sure I heard it ,or maybe I read it , It's not something I'm responsible for , about a village looking for it's missing Idiot . I overheard someone say ,not sure who ,that when they finally get to Washington they will find him .
2
If the 25th amendment isn’t used for an evidently classic malignant narcissist... then when would it be used? And why does it exist?
4
When will republican politicians step up and do something to stop the raging lunatic in the white house? It is very clear that his mental illness in getting worse and more dangerous with each passing day.
Do something. Otherwise, you are enabling this increasing madness.
4
The greatest threat to the U.S. economy is Donald Trump!
3
Lucky for Jerome Powell that snarling and snarky Donald Trump 'fights' by tweeting and speaking nicknames and slurs while watching Fox News and playing golf.
While Trump's ventriloquist master smiling and smirking Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin sends his foes to hospitals, mental institutions, prisons, urns and coffins.
Trump isn't half the man that Laura Ingraham, Caitlyn Jenner and Chelsea Manning all are.
3
Donald Trump: “My only question is, who is our bigger enemy, Jay Powell or Chairman Xi”?
Answer: Donald Trump
4
Who appointed Jerome Powell to the Federal Reserve Chair, anyway? Oh, my.
I wish someone in this country has some backbone to call out Trump for what he is in plain English. Mueller didn't have it and it looks like Jerome Powell doesn't have it.
4
It's evident that Trump pretends to do to the US what Maduro and before him Chávez did to Venezuela, run it to the ground. Every one of his actions and statements, tweets, in both local and foreign matters seem to have that purpose.
Whether he is doing that out of his own ineptitude, ignorance and the personality or a mentally ill eight years old or because he has been instructed to do that by Putin we don't know.
What we do know is that if left unchecked Trump will drive American companies into bankruptcy, will dry the Federal coffers to the point that half of the Federal Budget will be financed by borrowed money at which point the world's acceptance of our TBs would stop, which would send the value of our currency to the gutter.
He should be impeached now for the sake of our country.
4
Chairman Powell! Welcome to the Resistance! Please take a seat next to Mr Scaramucci over there and your orientation film will being momentarily. Please move in though as we are expecting a large crowd to arrive shortly.
4
Somehow lost in all this craziness, is DJT's labeling of President Xi as an "enemy".
While I hardly agree with China's trade practices and Xi's leadership practices, calling him an 'enemy' is profoundly irresponsible and reckless!
5
This is insane. Every single day a Trump headline or three so shocking breaks that it no longer shocks. Hang in there America. We have a chance to change this on November 03, 2020.
4
My advice to Chairmann Powell ( not that he needs it). Continue to do the right thing for the economy. Trump hasn’t a clue about economics. Trying to placate him will only make things worse. He won’t really care anyway. You can’t be fired. I suspect you are financially set. So protect your nest egg (and mine). In the end you will be remembered as the hero who kept his cool while everyone else was loosing theirs and afraid to tell the “chosen one” he has no clothes. The USA is more important than some clueless blowhard.
5
Every member of the GOP who enables this delusional president deserves to go down with him. Continuing to pretend there's not a problem should not be acceptable to the people.
6
I wish the Times would include that Trump initially misspelled Mr. Powell's name. It has since been corrected, probably by an aide. It adds credibility to the conclusion that his competence diminishes when he is emotionally aroused, which is a frequent occurrence these days.
6
This is what happens when the United States is being led by an incompetent, ignorant, megalomaniac who has no interest or concern for the majority of middle class and poor Americans. It is clear that our president is manipulating the stock market to benefit his rich and powerful friends to the detriment of hard working Americans who rely on a stable stock market for their retirement funds. It is clear also that he is in a position of power that is way over his head in terms of his experience, skills, intelligence, and management ability. His reckless and impulsive behavior demonstrates he is also liking in any emotional intelligence. The only reason this president is still in office is because Republican sycophants and enablers choose to stay silent and refuse to speak truth to power.
4
News flash; impeaching and failing to convict does not solve this problem. It makes it worse. You give Trump a fight that he can, and will, win, thanks to his Repub enablers in the Senate. If he is losing every other fight why provide him a slam-dunk winner? Be patient. Failing that, try winning a few elections. We need more Hickenloopers. Are you listening Stacy?
4
"Who knew the economy was so complicated!"
- Donald J. Trump
3
Each day, ask yourself: what would a weak and insecure President do?
Then read the headlines and see how close you got to right answer.
5
President Trump is single-handedly ruining the United States economy, not to mention the whole world’s. He revels gleefully in the notion that Chinese workers are going jobless while, thanks to his gratuitously misguided tariffs, American farmers have no markets for their produce and that the civilized world recoils at the prospect of negotiating with a serially mendacious grifter with all the reliability of an automobile made entirely of paper clips, shirt buttons and rubber bands.
It's all Trump-appointed Jerome Powell's fault, which takes some heat off President Obama's weary shoulders.
3
Just an "enemy"? Not "sad', or "a total loser'? Trump must still be a little fond of the guy.
2
Trump blames everyone but himself. Time to stop letting the cowardly bully in chief ruin our country. Making us small and mean, making hatred and victim blaming great. He is truly evil, the ultimate anti-patriot.
He's getting weirder and more dangerous every day. Republicans should examine their consciences and stop enabling him.
Six bankruptcies. Lost billions. Do we really want him to bankrupt the United States? He's well on the way ...
4
If we’re forced to throw around the term “enemy,” perhaps it is best applied to low IQ folks who:
— spend their time watching FOX to gratify their fragile 70 year old ego
— tweet obsessively and hysterically
— depend upon their aides holding up simple pictures in lieu of policy briefings
3
When has a past president ever called his own appointee an enemy? It’s unprecedented and utterly demented.
4
And congress continues to ring their hands and do absolutely nothing about this delusional child with a god complex. Perhaps we deserve this failure of a man.
Politicians are all useless, carrying more for their so called "status" than they do for their country and its citizens.
Wakeup soon before it's too late and there is nothing to be done.
3
Trump is really a synthesis of many leaders.
You get many traits in one president:
He has the humility of Mussolini, the intellect of Dan Quayle, the humaneness of MBS, the morality of Caligula, and the eloquence of Sarah Palin.
What's not to like?
5
Trump is not exactly the "friend" of American banks. Not one will loan him money because of his many bankruptcies and numerous failures to pay loans and other debt, He borrowed $2 billion from a German bank and never paid them back. And depending on your source, there have been between 3,000 and 4,500 lawsuits against him. Cute... huh. Funny the media never says the FED is not part of the government. It is a private banking organization. Then the myth of all the things they have control over begins.
3
It has been obvious that Trump attacks his critics with force, overwhelming force. What is new is that he is attacking those who are not criticizing him, but not bending to his will. I have seen others in power before who could not accept responsibility. They blamed everyone else when their projects fell flat - it was not their fault - but the fault of everyone else. But, again, this is different. The project hasn't yet filed - the attacks are preemptive. Trump always plays the victim because any time he does not get what is good for him, it is the fault of others. He has said he has never made a mistake, and therefore has never needed to apologize. An adult accepts responsibility for their actions. A child does not.
5
By labeling a technocrat an enemy, the autocrat may be a greater enemy to America. Of course, when Trump first became POTUS, many have listened to President Obama wishing the office would change him. Alas, even the immensity of the office could not alter the thievery instinct. America is just Taj Mahal 2.0.
2020 can't come soon enough!
5
When it comes to the yearly meeting at Jackson Hole, again we leave with the same feeling: these great minds that influence our economy are there only for a vacation, period. Can anyone add something to what the media reports that is any different than what has already been said before these politicians showed up? Pitiful. And dropping the fed rate is going to revive the economy, maybe in two years. As long as the consumer has that credit card......right? With credit card balances higher than pre 2007 levels we are right where we want to be: again in trouble.
3
Rates are already historically low, but Mr. Trump would not even know or care about that. That means that even at current levels the Fed does not have much of a tool to help the economy when it really goes south. Mr. Trump only wants the Fed to shore up his re-election bid. Any concern he has about the US economy is ultimately only in terms of how it services his ultimate goal of "Trump wins."
8
Two of our greatest and growing issues are (1) Trump and (2) Trump's exploding deficits. Fortunately there is a readily available means to reign in both. If everyone working in the White House or in some role in Trumps court. err, administration, were to quit this weekend we would save money on their pay, on their personal security, on whatever misuse of funds they are currently engaged in AND Trump would have no means beyond Twitter proclamations to actually put his "thoughts" into actions. Two problems mitigated as quickly as Il Duce can tweet a tariff.
4
Is there any oversight of Trump, his family, his administration as to whether anyone is secretly taking in fortunes in advance of each Nero-like tweet that roils the markets? This is a serious question. Seriously.
9
Ordering companies to seek alternative to China for business operations. Calling the Fed Chair an enemy on the same level as a foreign dictator.
Okay GOPers. Had enough yet?
10
Trump doesn’t know what he is taking about or doing. He will lie any way. But his impulsivity is consequential. I see seesawing of my retirement nest.
6
The Federal Reserve's independence is essential to keeping America free. Loss of Fed independence means the loss of global American leadership. Fed power in the hands of government means the destruction of democracy toward Trump fascism and then into progressive democratic socialism. Feels like Venezuela to me.
8
It was clear long ago that Trump is a narcissist and imbalanced. What is far more troubling is that his cabinet and a multitude of secretaries directors, assistants and aides are unwitting, afraid of him or unwilling to stand up to him. With his outburst against Powell and Jinping, the entire world knows he is now afraid, and certainly, China will not back down. There is no one alive who has any experience with tariffs, at least to the degree that the US has undetaken. This experiment will 'explode' with unhappy results.
5
So Powell can comment on Trumps trade policy but Trump can't comment on Powell's bank policy?
1
“Fed chair suggested that the central bank may be unable to overcome economic uncertainty stemming from the president’s trade war.”
A thoughtful analysis was presented by Mr Powell and Mr Trump called him “enemy” as bad a Prime Minister Xi (a dictator). That’s not dialogue and disagreement. That’s crazy.
6
Trump is goading Powell into quitting. I imagine he would replace him with Lou Dobbs.
6
The biggest enemy is DJT.
10
We have President Trump who claims to know more than the generals, and more than our intelligence experts. Now he claims to know more than Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome Powell, about the appropriate economics to protect our economy that is threatened by a useless trade war orchestrated by 'Trumponomics'. After all, look at Trump's history of success; buried his hotel and casino businesses into bankruptcy six times after sucking out the cash, ripped off vendors on multiple occasions, established the fraudulent Trump University leading to a $25 million settlement, and only the crooked Deutsche Bank would lend him money, and so on. As Leonard Pitts, Jr headline stated for an Opinion article almost three years ago, 'To put it politely, Trump is a carnival barker without the integrity.' Now, we are living that truth.
8
good job, Trump, turning another erstwhile ally into an enemy. That sure guarantees Powell’s cooperation.
Meanwhile, in North Korea, missile launches continue with nary a protest from the Mad King
5
Another GOP President with a list of domestic enemies. Are the FBI and CIA targeting these enemies like they did Nixon's? One hint, the recent FBI notice it would treat "conspiracists", even if true, as terrorist threats. That means it can target them for "disruption" operations, not just investigations.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fbi-conspiracy-theories-facebook-195650854.html
4
I washed my hands, and you should have, too, America.
4
Welcome, Jerome Powell. Being called an "enemy" of/by Donald J. Trump puts you in the company of some of the finest, smartest, and frankly, most patriotic people, including, but not limited to, the New York Times editorial staff, the Washington Post editorial staff, CNN, MSNBC, and many of America's kindest and most moral citizens. Keep up the good work!
14
I'm pretty sure we're all his enemy because we read the NYT. He's that paranoid. I remain puzzled Congress can't get its head around the fact the president is mentally ill and unfit to serve. It's more than obvious. Nancy? Mitch? Anyone willing to step up and lead?
10
Trump is very dangerous and possibly mentally ill. He has no boundaries to what he spews. With the proliferation of guns and some in his base who take his statements seriously, people he attacks as enemies (and there are more and more) have to be concerned. We know of some of the terrorists (e.g., the Florida and Pizza guys, El Paso) who have gone after his "enemies."
8
King Trump labels everybody an enemy.
8
Mr. Trump sounds good. Make him a used condo dealer again.
5
I formerly tried to be charitable and believe that Trump was ignorant and not a little bit evil. In my opinion he is both of these and seriously mentally ill. He apparently now thinks that he is "anointed" and the defender of Israel. He lies repeatedly and rules by tweets, changing his mind frequently. His instability should call forth a response from the Congress to save this country and indeed the world from his aberrations.
6
Powell should resign and dump the president into the quagmire he has created.
4
This is the most honest tweet I have seen from him, since he puts quotes around how “brilliantly” he will work with the dollar and the fed.
2
In order for the Fed to make a difference in a contracting economy, they must work in tandem with the Executive Branch and be supported by Congress. As you can see we have a problem on two of the three fronts. We have a President who swings wildly from irrational exuberance ( to quote a former Fed Chair), to panic and back again. His flailing about prevents an already dysfunctional Congress from having any hope of supporting his policies because they have no idea what they are.
It would be possible for the Fed and Congress to decide on a plan and work together regardless of what Trump says, but that would take more fortitude than Congress has exhibited in a very long time. It might however, have a chance of heading off a recession or at the least making it short and shallow.
2
Donald Trump, Moscow Mitch, Bill Barr, Stephen Miller, Mick Mulvaney, Ivanka, Jared and every Republican in Congress are certainly no friends of the United States. With friends like that who needs enemies.
Every Democrat in Congress should be for impeaching Trump.
6
Pelosi says there is not enough support for impeachment among the Democrat representatives. I think every representative needs to state before the public, before the camera, whether or not they support impeaching trump. I hope Pelosi is playing a game and waiting until the timing will have the maximum negative effect on trump and the 2020 election. She can do the right thing if she wishes, but she is somewhat sketchy herself.
3
The CEOs of the largest and most influential companies must go to McConnell and demand that he put an end to this disgraceful, eminently destructive, and catastrophic presidency. But it probably won't make a difference at this point. Everything Trump touches dies. He had "touched" our economy, our nation, our ethos.
9
I still want to believe that there are a large number of moderate, rational Republicans in our wobbling nation, and would like to reach out to remind them that the incoherent charlatan in the White House is on the brink of bringing down all of us, critics and enablers alike. It will be massively ugly. If you want to avoid becoming an irrelevant pariah, you'd be well served to exert whatever influence you have within your party to prevent this from happening.
6
The conventional thinking is that today’s market crash was caused by the escalating trade war. Wall Street honchos will readily cite that as the problem. But it’s really only a symptom of what is ailing the jittery markets.
They won’t say it, and maybe they haven’t come to the conscious realization themselves, but the markets ( and our economy) are rattled by the indisputable evidence that the President of the United States is a lunatic. His demands on businesses ( who have no idea how to plan for Trump’s fiscal fickleness ) and the target he has drawn on Fed Chair Powell’s back are the rantings of a desperate madman. He has no strategy, goals or plan to resolve the China trade issue. Wall Street has awakened from dream that a competent businessman was in charge and now faces the reality that Trump is as crazy and ignorant as he always seemed to be.
10
Wall Street knew what they were getting and they knew how to pull his strings. They profit much more in a volatile market like this then they do with a stably growing, occasionally rationally correcting, market.
4
The BIGGEST and worst enemy of THE PEOPLE is Donald Trump!
15
What? He didn’t call Powell “nasty”? Oh right. Powell’s a man, so he is an enemy. Only women who oppose are nasty. Surprised he didn’t call him disloyal too.
Help us Obi Wan Kenobi. You’re our only hope (now that all the Republicans in Congress have forfeited their collective courage).
13
Trump is in way over his head--and he knows he doesn't understand the economy.
12
Not the first or the last time this administration undermines the opinions of the experts.
9
President Richard Nixon had an Enemies List.
President Bill Clinton had Friends of Bill (FOB).
President Trump specializes in Enemies of Trump (EOT).
Sure hope the next president in 2020 is more interested in making friends than enemies.
In terms of how our country fares, I would say it makes a big difference whether a president prefers to make friends or would much prefer to make enemies.
Just something to keep in mind for November 3, 2020
9
I wonder if anybody else has noticed that the Trump approval polls correlate pretty well with fluctuations in the Dow Jones index (I presume nobody in the WH has). Very deep dip in Dow in late 2018, Trump approval lowest during the presidency. Shallower dip in spring of 2019 produced turbulence in approval. The current drop started in July, and Trump's approval has dropped by more than a percentage point since then. There is apparently a small group of independent flip-floppers who feel fluctuations in the stock market somehow.
Trump's recent behavior is baffling. It's like he's totally lost the plot. His China policy is not popular, contrary to what he thinks. Every time he pursues it, his ratings tank. The same applies to his racism. Every time he announces yet another racist and cruel immigration policy, his ratings tank. He seems to have bought into the ideas of some idiots who tell him that there is some secret, silent majority who really wants this stuff and will miraculously show up to save him on the election day. Really it's just Stephen Miller and his friends, and they don't a president make.
7
Mr. Powell. your boss calls you "the enemy." Why do you continue to work for him? You couldn't possibly need that job so much that you're willing to accept such humiliation.
9
@george
Being declared Trump's "enemy" may just be a badge of distinction and honor.
3
But if Powell leaves. Heaven help us
1
In our household, when we're fully employed and the economy is good, we use the opportunity to set more $$ aside for the next financial emergency or cyclical downturn. For Trump and the current administration, they use the opportunity to spend more through unpaid tax cuts to corporations and the wealthy -- driving our debt and deficits to new highs, limiting our country's ability to handle future recessions and unexpected disasters. Totally irresponsible actions -- just to buy votes and obtain more corporate campaign contributions for their own re-election...while promoting themselves as patriots and devoted to making America great again? I think not.
8
Whatever happened to that anonymous editorial writer who worked in the White House and prevented Trump from acting on his worst impulses? My guess is that whoever that was long ago departed his or her role.
Is it just me or does Trump's recent behavior bring to mind "the madness of King George"?
27
Who isn't Trump's enemy, once you're out of the sycophant's circle which must surely be one of the circles in Dante's Purgatorio?
When you are dealing with facts and expert fields, there should not be politics.
Trump has an undergraduate degree with no honors from the Univ. of Pennsylvania. He had multiple bankruptcies, and as the New York Times established, he lost a billion dollars in his various business deals. He was a pariah for national bank loans, and Deutsche Bank's record in lending to Trump after he kept defaulting is under investigation.
Now that Trump has declared himself the "Chosen One", I guess his idea of "In God We Trust" has shifted to his mirror. Will his cultists keep following him when their farms are lost, their coal jobs don't come back, and their healthcare disappears? The buck stops here, indeed.
20
How does calling Xi an enemy help us either?
18
"I won't be around when the bills come due": Trump was quoted as saying this when told about the possible long-term impact his actions could have on the economy. In other words, the blame will go to another president, probably because she or he will have to raise taxes and cut spending. This is the entirety of Trump's economic plan: enrich himself, then blame others.
18
Seems to me that Trump is trying to bait Powell into lowering interest rates by creating the havoc with his own actions...
12
@JDW113
Trump appears to be making war on Powell in a weird way.
The day after the rate cut at the end of July, Trump announced big tariffs against China. It almost seemed like he was trying to ruin what the Fed had just announced or use any leeway in the economy from the rate cut to get away with the new tariffs.
Now, the moment after Powell made a very important speech to the Jackson Hole crowd, calming markets, Trump again tries to ruin it by his tweets about companies that doe business in China, and then hours later, after the market tanked from that indiscreet tweet, Trump fires off another broadside about tariffs that we will have to wait for Monday morning to feel its impact.
6
This may lead to the biggest insider trading case ever. Remember, there is no bottom to these people. trump et al will do anything, period, for a buck.
9
@JDW113
Looks like I picked a bad month to retire and start withdrawing from my 401(k)!
I'm not happy (!!!) that he's playing with all of our futures...
1
One thing enjoyable about Trump are his chutzpah moments.
A "business man" whose forte was sue and/or declare bankruptcy telling the head of the Fed how to do his job is chutzpah.
15
Trump is the bankruptcy king. He will be allowed to impose tariffs on trade and employ other foolish schemes that destroy our economy, remaining totally unfettered by congress. When the country is finally ruined, he will walk away like he always does, leaving everyone else to pay the debt. So sad.
17
Trump is already planning on who to blame for a likely recession before the 2020 election. This is the entirety of Trump's economic plan: blame others.
18
We have a Problem, and no one with the power or inclination to fix it. This will continue to spiral out of control, like Putin fantasized
18
Time to charge Twitter with aiding and abetting the collapse of our country.
22
I'm pessimistic about her chances, but this whole mess with the economy is why we need Elizabeth Warren as president. She certainly, "knows a hawk from a handsaw." And who our real enemies are.
19
Hello Echo Chamber
I really enjoy reading the comments to these stories that underscore the obvious about our president. It truly pains me to say “our president” because he’s proving to be so much worse than I ever imagined he could be. But it doesn’t matter a whit what I think or you think or the pundits think. The Donald is in charge right now laying waste to 70 years of established world order that had been working pretty well to keep us from blowing ourselves up, an economic system that lifted global standards of living dramatically, global climate initiatives that at least began to address the mess we’ve made, and the list goes on. He’s a one man wrecking crew and if there’s any hope of getting rid of him in 2020, the discussion needs to shift away from how awful trump is to what can be done to meaningfully address the deep rooted problems that made 62 million people vote for him over a so obviously more qualified opponent, flawed as hrc was. As a nation we have spent three years shouting past each other. I have to believe there are mostly people of good will across the political spectrum that want to see this madness we are living end. Please let’s stop taking the the troll bait, get behind leaders who value the common good both at home and abroad, and find the common ground necessary to get rid of not just Donald Trump, but the reasons he was elected in the first place.
17
A large percentage of those people will vote for trump again no matter what so they can continue to "own the liberals". Some of them were Clinton-averse (rightfully so) and might vote for the Democrat candidate in 2020, some were otherwise decent people who made a mistake and will come correct, but the majority of that 62 million will vote trump in 2020, no matter what he says or does, because MAGA. Those people are irredeemable as far as their potential for being any sort of decent citizen, making any sort of positive contribution to society, in the future.
3
@Peter. Well stated. And on the mark.
Trump has fired all his guardrails.
Congressional Republicans have to fill that void. It's way past time for an intervention. It's time for impeachment and removal.
18
@L
I think they need to reread Profiles in Courage.
2
More praise for dictators and states that are generally against America, are not allies. What a shock.
Oh, wait, that's right, it's not President Obama any more, all normal expectations of decency and sanity are gone.
10
My only questions is, who is the bigger enemy of the US, Donald Trump or Chairman Xi ?
14
@FThomas Definitely Donald Trump.
3
President Trump said,"he'll hire only the best people".
They are the best people until they are indicted, leave because of unethical behavior or Trump decides they are useless or an enemy.
Powell is supposed to be independent but Trump needs a scapegoat now, therefore Powell is now the enemy. He's worse than Kim Jung Un, Iran and even China.
The press was the enemy of the people according to Trump for a long time.
Now Chairman Powell has that prestigious title too.
Trump is exhausting us and the sooner he goes then America will finally be made great.
13
Now that Trump has labeled the Fed chairman an enemy, I assume that more of my tax dollars will have to go toward funding his personal security.
3
The Fed does not rely on tax dollars. They generate their own funds, with a healthy profit, performing their functions.
The incompetent President who left a trail of business failures, bankruptcies, poorly treated tenants, financially abused students at his " university", etc, etc, etc is the enemy.
19
I’m beginning to wonder if the NRA isn’t preparing its fans to carry out a violent trump coup of our democracy, now that there are more guns than people in this unfortunate country.
10
There's just no helping a nation that chooses to be led by someone who no sane person would voluntarily do business with.
20
Powell should resign. Why does he need this?
But, than we would really be in a pickle: P. Trump will probably appoint himself as the next Fed Leader.
I am hoping the powers that be, U.S. Industry will step in and either halt or slow P. Trump down because the legislative GOP will do nothing!
8
Corporations rule. He’s just their crazy out of control figurehead but like Frankenstein’s monster is becoming defiant and dangerous.
3
Isn't this where Batman, Spiderman or one of those guys come in to save the day?
8
@john fiva - Nah, this is about the time The Penguin comes in and says he can run the country better than Trump.
1
The economy is not handled with acts of thugs, or political blackmail, it is handled with technical studies and projections🤼♂️
7
What happened to the 25th Amendment?
M
13
In the words of Sarah Palin a stalwart conservative Republican, "So, how's that going for you?"
Farmers thought Trump would help them out. Now they are receiving government subsidies because they can't competitively export.
Automakers are ignoring Trump's higher emission rules because they look beyond 2020.
The banks are pushing for a rollback of the 2008 regulations promising they have learned their lesson.
Coal miners are no better off since Trump took office.
The trade deficit has increased 8.4%.
Foreign allies increasingly hate us.
So, I ask the Trump base why they still support him?
19
Because their minds are cult controlled and they were ignorant racist nor being taken advantage of by the corporate state. They felt to need to escape.
But from the frying pan into the fire.
1
@MJG
There are people deplorable and worse than Trump in that base.
1
The enemy is Trump. Enemy to the economy. Enemy to democracy. Enemy to the planet. Enemy to people of color. Enemy to women. I’m sure I’ve left something out. How does any American support this presidency?
23
One of the major reasons why Trump is hated by the people on this site is that they are clueless as far as economics is concerned. Powell is a stooge for the Wall Street globalists. He wants Trump to fail, just as the Chinese do. Every developed country is lowering rates except the US, putting our companies at a severe disadvantage. Until Powell changes direct, he is indeed the enemy, in bed with China.
@Louis Genevie
Yet Paul Krugman, Nobel Laureate in economics, somehow misses seeing Trump's economic brilliance, maybe due to all the bankruptcies, hidden taxes, and loss of a billion dollars.
21
@Louis Genevie
"I won't be around when the bills come due": Trump was quoted as saying this when told about the possible long-term negative impact his actions could have on the economy. In other words, the blame will go to another president, probably because she or he will have to raise taxes and cut spending. In the event of a likely recession before the 2020 election, Trump is already planning on who to blame. This is the entirety of Trump's economic plan: enrich himself, then blame others.
7
Yes, we’re all clueless. We really should be bowing down to a man who managed to go bankrupt 3 times, who lost money in the casino industry, and who left a trail of creditors in his wake. A man whose campaign shafted multiple cities by not paying their security costs as agreed. We just can’t see his brilliance. But you are apparently well informed about all of the unproven conspiracy theories that keep Trumps base in his thrall. If only we could be as well informed...
9
Trump appointed Powell to the Fed post. It was, as it turns out, one of his best appointments. Most of Trump's choices have been talentless sycophants. Powell at least knows the difference between good policy and bad, has a backbone, and knows when to stand his ground against Trump.
15
@Steve Schroeder - Gerd Thunberg, the 16 year old girl conservationist sailing the Atlantic has more common sense than Jerome Powell. Jerome Powell, at his core, supports environmental policies which may kill his children or grandchildren.
2
One way or another buck will stop at Trump oval office.
Blame every body, doesn't matter.
5
Now Jerome Powell has joined the ranks of federal employees who have crossed Donald Trump. Just about all those folks have been forced out of government or worse.
Watch your back, Mr. Powell, watch your back.
9
If Powell leaves he’ll be fine. We won’t.
1
Donald needs to read Pogo. I have met the enemy, and he is me.
14
@db2
You mean, “He is I”.
2
Yet, the spineless Republicans manage to stay quiet while Trump base enjoys this tragic Reality Show. Democrats are staging their own Political Reality Show, that noisy selection process to nominate two persons destined to be defeated by this unfit uspresident.
Unless Republicans, not Democrats, begin the impeachment process, the degeneration of the US deepens beyond the point of no-repair.
Sad, isn’t it?
10
What do you call a “leader” who goes from one extreme in appointing one of the most important gov duties and then shortly thereafter goes to other extreme by labeling his nominee as an enemy? Extremist Trump.
8
“...President Trump’s trade policies...”
This phrase is based in erroneous assumption. It is internally contradictory.
President Trump has no cohesive trade policy. He has no long-term goals in the area of international alliances. No strategic defense plans. Trump has no “game plan for anything.” None.
Since he is the President of the United States of America, pundits and journalists and commentators have been crediting Trump, for 2 1/2 years, with skills and abilities he just plain doesn’t have, It’s not that his skills are weak, they are nonexistent. The president has been making up his mind as to what he’ll do next in a haphazard, nearly-mindless way since 1/20/2017
The president’s initial reaction to news that the federal defecit would be much higher than originally predicted was to look into the possibility of purchasing Greenland.
Got it?
“Serious economic problems. People might try to blame me for this. You know, my tariffs. Hmmm. I’ll try to swing a deal for Greenland!!! That’ll fix things!”
It is nearly unthinkable that the POTUS is, in truth, a man without a plan. That the most powerful elected official on this planet is just “making it up as he goes along.” That he’s “just faking it.”
But that’s exactly what Trump is doing. And he’s doing so because “faking it” is all he’s capable of. He’s been faking (and failing) his whole life.
Saddly, the “worst case scenario” sometimes turns out to be the truth. Trump is unbalanced, incompetent and completely clueless.
21
Our reality-challenged President seems to think "The Fed" is actually "Daddy Fred", and should be there to bail him out of the bone-head mistakes like he always has. Oh, poor Donald. Jay Powell does not look like a forgiving, indulgent papa for whom The Donald can do no wrong, and if he does start a losing trade war here, or wreck the farm economy over there, well, here is a few billion to make things okay.
No, Mr. Powell is no Fred Trump, much to Donnie's chagrin.
13
And this is exactly why we have an independent Fed!
To protect us from the vagaries of politics.
17
“Our economy is in a favorable place,” Powell said. The big, bad debate is over nothing more than when to expand and by how much. The victory with China is a no-brainer since we mostly trade with ourselves when compared to China, as Sen. Schumer once observed. And this is a fight we must win.
1
" 'My only question is, who is our bigger enemy, Jay Powell or Chairman Xi?,' Mr. Trump wrote ..."
As Governor Inslee said in the first debate, the nation's number one national security risk is Trump. Everything he says and does supports that assertion. The nation is contemplating a mountain of impeachable offenses.
27
I keep seeing my retirement, my 401K swinging up and down, and slowly losing value. It is bad enough that so many people's retirement is threatened via impulsive, childish tweets, but that there is still such support from his fans and supporters in Congress is just mystifying. Well, his supporters in Washington will survive, they are all millionaires. His fan base may not do as well, at least the ones who are lucky enough to have a job offering some sort of retirement plan. This is the kind of real world consequence that occurs when the ruler of this nation publicly and loudly expresses his views, multiple times a day, regardless of how ignorant or spiteful they are. I find this whole situation scary.
234
All so scary and surreal.
How does he have any
support? Everything he
does is destructive. When
you think it cannot get worse,
it actually gets worse to the
point of being almost unbelievable.
He is provoking world
economic crisis, war and
ecological disaster. How do
his family members and sycophants
live with themselves?
44
@Ken It's times like these that I am glad I don't retire for another three decades. I feel very bad for people who are on the cusp of retirement or are retired and watching their funds plunge.
9
@Ken when you said ‘ruler’ chills went down my spine. NEVER in my 60 plus years have the words President and Ruler been intertwined but yet....here we are.
13
25 4 45
Which is faster, impeachment or invoking the 25th amendment? There's already ample evidence of mental instability, and if his aides don't hide his cell phone this weekend, he may supply further evidence of an unraveled and unbalanced mind.
26
This is why Trump has so many "acting" officials in his administration. As soon as the Senate confirms, an official has built-in powers and becomes much harder to remove. IOW, Trump doesn't get to boss that official around as easily. But America needs people in the Executive Branch who aren't enslaved by the president. Powell is showing us why.
13
And no chance re 25th amendment. Cabinet officials and VP won’t act
1
This is unconscionable. How long before one of Mr. President Trump's supporters decides that Mr. Powell is indeed the "enemy" and needs to be neutralized? I hope Mr. Powell is taking the necessary precautions to ensure his safety.
22
He should be granted an official government bodyguard. We know there are trump fans willing and eager to carry out his dog whistles.
4
Imagine if Trump had to deal with the inscrutability of Greenspan?
11
Trump is panicking and desperate to do anything to win re-election as he has seen what indictment and imprisonment can do to anyone, even someone as wealthy and well-connected as his old pal, Jeffrey Epstein. He no doubt knows that there is evidence out there that would put him in jail once he is out of office, and he will literally say or do anything at this point to avoid that outcome. Things are about to get truly dangerous for all of us and our democracy.
21
I would like to see a complete list of all the insults trump has used for his own appointees - from Jeff Sessions to Kelly to Powell. It must be pretty long. They names for him have of course been myriad, though Rex Tillerson's was probably the best two word summation.
16
I'd like to ask Mr. Powell when they are going to start thinking about those of us who saved our money, planning to live on the interest from those savings and now have to spend our 'seed corn'--which is quickly disappearing :(
12
Mr Powell is not the enemy here. Your five-time bankrupted president is the arsonist.
7
Powell?!? Why would you ask him? Why not ask the fellow who is driving this trade war, the one who claimed it would be easy to win? The Donald needs to make a deal with China, something he excels at, supposedly. I’m impressed at how little diplomacy and deal making he seems to actually possess. Even more perplexing is how little blame he seems to receive for his own behavior from certain quarters.
5
@susan. Why should we ask Powell, when it’s the President that started all this dangerous chaos, and has stated “I will be gone” when the bill comes due for his failed “presidency”?
2
Democrats and Republicans should defend the independence of the Fed and should clearly, strongly, and publicly condemn Trump's trade wars. They are damaging the US economy, the Chinese economy, the economy of the EU, and that of the whole world. And if other countries are poorer, they will buy less from us.
Although Trump has done many awful things, his trade wars are among his worst offenses because they hurt the poor everywhere.
17
By law, the Fed was given a high degree of independence precisely because of leaders like Trump. The economy is far too important to entrust to ignorant, irresponsible, cynical politicians. Given a chance, politicians will immediately choose to drive interest rates to zero in an effort to juice the economy and ensure their reelection. The inevitable result is a dangerously overheated economy featuring hyperinflation, immediately followed by a calamitous economic crash. Yes economics is an imperfect science, but monetary policy must be guided by trained experts, not narcissistic presidents who have not a clue what they are doing.
15
Trump is right—his short-term political interests are diametrically opposed to long-term economic stability. Trump’s destabilization of America politically and economically makes him our enemy.
14
I'm glad Powell stated the economic facts correctly and stood up to Trump!
15
Trump's attack of the Fed might do serious damage to the dollar's status as the world reserve currency.
Worse, Trump's plea to disentangle our economy from China will turn a trade war, which is winnable on fair terms with help from our many allies, into a new cold war we face alone. The likelihood disputes then spill over into military confrontations will substantially increase, or at least lead to reciprocal and costly military buildups.
4
There are three ways to soften a recession--tax cuts, deficit spending, and interest rate cuts. But our tax cuts blew up our deficit in one fell swoop, leaving (already low) interest rates as our one bulwark for financial flexibility. Pretty obvious that President Xi sees that and is a far better strategist, having outflanked our strong dollar and economy. (And perhaps it's not so bad, seeing as he did it on a Friday to let us digest it over the weekend.) But why are the Republicans letting this happen to our country? Republicans' long strategy will be to blame the Democrats for the deficit when Moscow Mitch leads the fight to cut Social Security and Medicare.
11
@Blume. If Mitch and crew get their way, it won’t be cuts. There will be no social security or Medicare, period.
3
The issue of the day is the environment - global climate change, and our use of natural resources. If the economy tanks forcing us to live with a little less, and Trump is voted out of office, does anyone else feel like this might not be the worst thing to have happen?
6
So he's Trump's enemy. Wait - didn't Trump promise that he would hire the greatest and best for his cabinet, advisers, and the Fed?
So that's one more campaign promise that wasn't kept...
10
It's interesting that the two countries embattled in confusing and damaging trade "situations" are the U.S. through Trump and U.K. via Johnson, both of which have ties to Putin. Just saying.
18
Where does the Constitution give the President the power to dictate trade policy with no participation by Congress?
29
The Constitution has been shredded and is no longer in effect. Though no one will acknowledge this.
4
With tax cuts for the rich (mostly) instead of spending on infrastructure, with annual deficits now close to $1 trillion annually and rising, with no attempt to deal with global climate change, and with no attempt to fix Social Security, President Trump has been throwing quite a party for the US.
In addition, he has been engaged in a counterproductive trade war of the "an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind" type. If he really wanted to improve American trade, he could have and should have reformed the pro-corporate, anti-labor, anti-environmental trade pacts that have shipped jobs overseas.
The Fed has been excessively generous in keeping interest rates low, since they're job is to take away the punchbowl when the party gets going. Trump is is browbeating Powell for the Fed's refusal to engage in even greater dereliction of duty than it has engaged in thus far.
18
"I won't be around when the bills come due": this is what Trump was quoted as saying when told about the long-term negative impact his actions could have on the economy. In other words, the blame will go to another president, likely because she or he will have to raise taxes and cut spending. In the event of a likely recession before the 2020 election, Trump is already planning on who to blame. This is the entirety of Trump's so-called economic plan: Blame.
35
The direction now is clear. We are heading off a cliff. The only remaining question is the timing. Trump has no understanding of economic policy, trade history, or the ramifications of his words and actions. So none of this will improve on his watch. The key question remains. Is it better for a Democrat to be elected and be stuck with this mess like Clinton and Obama were, or for Trump to be re-elected and then forced to address the problems he created and has in prior iterations blamed on others. As much as I fear for this country's future, perhaps a Trump re-election could bring about the end of the Republican Party as we know it, introducing a new progressive era, like FDR after Hoover; could it be worth it? Particularly with States taking the lead on climate change and gun control? One wonders...
19
@Edge of Night A Trump reelection would be a disaster for the world.
4
@Edge of Night. I think WW3 would be the more likely outcome, should he gain re-election. I do agree with your statement “we are heading off a cliff”.....
1
We're now seeing Trump completely untethered from adult supervision. He's also under increasing pressure from world events, most, like his ill fought trade war, of his own making. His stewardship of the Obama economy and federal budget is flagging, particularly after his disastrous tax cuts. He no doubt also hears the steady drumbeat of House and New York state investigations, as well as disappointing polls ahead of his increasingly dubious re-election.
There's only one direction Tump's mania and disconnection from reality will go, and it ain't good. What's uncertain is how much farther off the standard presidential track he'll go. Finding convenient whipping boys like Jerome Powell and the Squad only work on the Fox Noise crowd, not the reality based public located here and internationally. The likelihood he'll take advice from Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity is in no way reassuring.
There's virtually no way Trump can dig himself out of the many holes he won't stop digging for himself. I fear the only way Trump will permanently leave the white House is in a straight jacket with a gag and spit mask. That is, unless congressional leaders from both Parties intervene to make him an offer he can't refuse, namely resignation in exchange for protection from state and federal prosecution.
18
@Michael Tyndall. I’m not in favor of offering the “man” protection from prosecution- he deserves the 25th, and every bit of misery the prosecution dishes out.
2
@todd sf
'I’m not in favor of offering the “man” protection from prosecution- he deserves the 25th, and every bit of misery the prosecution dishes out.'
I've wrestled with this issue. i think Trump and his complicit family members are eminently deserving of prosecution and the maximum penalties if convicted. But, given the risk he poses in office EVERY SINGLE DAY, I'd rather he be removed at the absolute earliest opportunity, despite immunity from prosecution. I think that serves the greater good far better.
1
And “my only question[s] is” [are ]...
how much longer will elected and
select policymakers, at all levels,
as well as other influential stakeholders,
themselves personally unaccountable in their actions,
enable Trump, to destroy?
To divide?
To desecrate the American Presidency?
To transmute TRUTHs and generalizable facts into fictions?
To “legally” “kidnap,” neglect, and abuse children?
To continue to enable America’s complex infrastructures to decline?
To feed and empower racism?
To continue to strengthen a heritage which created the creating, selecting and targeting of “the other(s)”?
To continue to dehumanize? Marginalize? Exclude? Discriminate?
To incite? Spew hatred? Exploit the vulnerable?
My question, and inherent quest, is when, and
how, will this flawed ummenschlich person be
made personally responsible for his
documentable temporary and more permanent harms, as
well as the “helps” he was elected and promised to deliver BUT
has not?
An additional multi-question:
How did we get where we are NOW?
What did we DO, or not DO, which needed DOing? Still does!
What are viable options for transmuting man-made barriers,
of whatever underpinnings, into
man-made, people-inviting-friendly bridges,
which BRIDGE much needed:
civility between...
mutual trust.
mutual respect.
mutual caring.
mutual help, when and if needed.
mutual compassion.
equitable sharing of human and nonhuman resources necessary
for creating sustainable, menschlich wellbeing for ALL?
6
Steve Bannon, in conversations with Michael Wolff (of "Fire and Fury" fame) said that Trump will not finish his first term.
He gave rated 3 possibilities:
1 - Impeachment
2 - 25th Amendment
3 - Resignation (the most likely)
Of course he should be impeached. However I understand why Pelosi is holding off (the need for witnesses and documents, etc.). And we know it will fail in the Senate.
And of course it's time for the 25th Amendment to be deployed.
Too bad, it can't happen.
Trump has inoculated himself from that (as he did by firing Comey and Sessions and hiring his lackey, Barr).
He has also done so by having a cabinet full of lackeys, many of whom are merely "acting" in their various capacities. So forget that one as well.
In re the market (and the economy in general) Trump will probably try to apply various tweaks, including getting his various sycophants (I'd rather spell the word "psychophants") to talk up the market. He will claim progress in talks with China when there isn't any. He may even do a little back tracking on the tariffs, gaslighting it by claiming he's still pressuring China.
It won't work.
He has already damaged growth both here and abroad.
The market turmoil will get worse. Lots of downs, some small "relief" rallies.
Down the road:
Growth slowing further
Looming recession
Indictments of friends and family
He will make a deal with Pence and attempt to do so with the various DAs.
And then step down; vehemently casting blame all over.
10
@MICHAEL ...and then he'll be arrested.
1
This may seem like unhinged behavior by trump.
But recall, according to Bernie’s babies and bullies there was no difference between Trump and Clinton.
So, Hillary would have been doing the same thing, right?
And now we have a reminder of the frailty of Justice RBG.
I just want to thank Bernie and his supporters to enabling trump’s election.
26
@Brad The manipulative DNC put up a candidate who, while not unqualified, appeared to not want the job--no fire in the belly. As a result, she was an unappealing candidate.
Donnie Drumpf no longer sees himself as 'president' but as the absolute ruler who has the sole authority to demand and command whatever he wants.
The actions he wants people, groups agencies to take are 100% unconstitutional and need to be added to Cong. Nadler's long, long list of impeachable offences.
If Drumpf isn't stopped and removed from office fast, it will be too late.
22
@molnarb "If Drumpf isn't stopped and removed from office fast, it will be too late."
I have given that message to my representatives from the beginning of Trump's tenure. I fear it may already be too late. Still, no effective action from our leaders.
11
Who is the biggest enemy of the American people ? Donald Trump. The US and world economies were chugging along just fine until Trump started his tariff wars, and now I can see the whole blowing up to where we are not only heading into another recession soon but are heading into a worldwide depression. Instead of bombs and bullets, the 2 biggest economies in the world are at war using tariffs and boycotts which is affecting the rest of the world. The economies of the US and China can only take so much of this before the whole thing will collapse, e.g. Sept. '08 on steroids. I've described Trump as mentally unstable in the past, but this ridiculous trade war and his comparison of the Fed chairman to a Communist dictator is proving my point.
16
Hopefully we will experience the worst depression in our history from which we may learn a thing or two.
2
Who was it that thought it would be a good idea to put a man in the White House, in charge of our nation, that had multiple bankruptcies, has obvious narcissism issues along with other mental health foibles, and constantly verbally abuses our allies and his own administration? It certainly wasn’t me.
14
Trump's turning on anyone who disagrees with him about anything has gotten to the point where one can truly say that the enemy of my President is my friend.
19
Today's stock market sell off marks the end of a miserable week of Trumpism missteps, uncertainties absurd comments on topics Trump knows nothing about! Americans are screaming for Republican action! Do something!
14
AHH, Labeling Powell is one of the best things Trump can do for Wall St. GOPers! If he continues to create hatred w/i the conservative financial groups, it will cost him big time. If we have a Recession it will cost him big time. And no matter what, if we have a Recession it will cost Trump big time.
Get trump Out Of The White House!
18
Trump can’t even get the NRA to stop interfering with legislation for background checks for guns to keep our families safe. And he thinks he can win a trade war with China !! Just like sanctions, the only people that get hurt economically are the everyday people ... NOT THE RICH OR TRUMP ! How’s it working for our farmers ... yeah.
10
"President Trump is the enemy of the people" should be printed on bumper stickers and yard signs and widely displayed around the country.
10
If Trump can't tell who the enemy is here, it's because Putin hasn't told him who they are yet.
8
I'll write what everyone else has already written. Of course it has! Another war, (albeit) w/o soldiers, yet, that won't nor can't be won. Whadda maroon!
1
Thank you Mr Powell, for doing your job.
11
WHen is Kudlow coming on TeeVee to tell us what Trump really meant?
15
Trump is going from crazy to dangerous. Bunker time?
11
Waiting for the rest of the confessions !
2
I can't understand how such highly regarded men and women who are so savagely attacked and insulted by Trump keep their mouth shut and not answer in kind. I dream of the day that one of the Democratic candidates, Elizabeth Warren come to mind, will jump into the mud pool, no gloves, and give this horrible president of you a lesson that he will never forget, for all the crooked Hillaries, Pocahontas, sleepy Joes, worse-enemy-then Xi and the others. This could be a shock therapy that would straighten this feeble brute. But then I am not an American, just a thin skinned, hot-headed Mid Easterner dreamer who can guarantee that where I live such behavior wouldn't be accepted with bowed heads. No way.
12
I suspect he will gleefully bankrupt the country if it keeps him out of jail.
9
Sounds like Jerome Powell could use a T-Shirt like the one I have that says across the front "Proud to be Trump's Enemy."
5
Trump has got it wrong. HE is America’s greatest enemy. He is destroying a remarkable country by his bombastic and ill informed comment. He is taking America in a very dangerous direction.
14
My god, where is the red line for Republicans?
11
@SPH. Redline? They don’t have one, welcome to late, late capitalism.
1
The University of Pennsylvania called and they want Trump's economics degree back.
9
Protectionism will not "make America great" nor will QE help us out of this mess. The market economy will ultimately correct all artificial actions. The past 40 years of money pumping, interference, and debt is unsustainable. Postponing the enviable cleans only make the crash bigger. The event is near, currency crises is on the horizon. Get out while you can.
1
The market tanked today. But I'm not worried. I'm sure President Trump will replenish my decimated 401K out of his own pocket. Right?
14
Wrong. If you have a 401K, then you are not trump's kind of people and you are not on trump's A-team. Only the wealthy will see any gain under trump.
6
Don׳t Worry ... The “Chosen One” will take care of you ...
2
The Federal Reserve is problematic. Some of the things that it does is bad for the U.S. economy.
The solution is not for the president to berate the Fed Chairman or call him the enemy.
If there is something wrong with the Federal Reserve System, then Congress must change the law that governs the Fed and the president must sign and enforce that law. The president can even suggest changes to Congress and use his bully pulpit to call on Congress to change laws.
That is not what Trump is doing. Trump is going against the spirit of the law, which is to protect the Fed from short term political interference for political or financial gain by making it independent. When Trump attacks Powell, he is attacking the law and the Constitution that created that law.
The Fed should have independence in setting the growth of the money supply.
The problem with the Fed is how they inject that money into the economy. The current system is terrible because it relies on global banks to take money from the Fed and then make good investments. However, the global banks have their own agenda, that is not aligned with the interests of We the People.
When the Fed decides to grow the money supply, that money belongs to We the People, not global banks.
If the Fed divided the money equally among all citizens of the U.S., that money would go directly into the real economy, as we paid down our debts, started small businesses or went shopping in local stores.
This would be more efficient and more fair.
2
@McGloin
Except the Federal Reserve is a privately owned bank.
Who owns it? The member banks.
Not you, not me, not the American people.
Yes, the bank’s charter commands that the money supply growth be constrained by the dual mandate of low inflation/low unemployment but that is an art, not a science.
4
@McGloin
You would first need to change our system to accommodate your suggestions. More government controlled system as they have in EU.
2
“He has lost the ability to differentiate himself from the country and his own psychological needs from the country’s interests. To oppose him is to be an “enemy of the people.”
27
No matter what other government bodies will do, the economy will be crashing down on us soon. The deficit has become unsustainable, consumer spending will eventually exhaust itself, trade wars with every major economy cost billions in economic opportunities, a hyperinflated stock market and an unstable president who behaves as l’état c’est moi.
17
So, now trump has "hedged" his position: Powell (The Fed) has either: 1) acted inappropriately or precipitously last year; 2) Failed to act when he said to act; or 3) Acted too late.
No matter what the Fed now does, if the Economy goes into recession, he will have his foil.
trump never makes a mistake. It is always the fault of someone else.
22
When Bill Clinton left office, there was a budget SURPLUS. Bush then waged a two front war and cut taxes, quickly burning through the surplus and running a deficit. Obama started his term with the legacy of the Bush-era mess. Still with a smart crew and lots of fast work, the Obama administration managed to right the American and global economy. What can the next administration do if we slump into a recession? With a massive and growing budget deficit, ultra low lending rates, a weakened Dodd-Frank, and a gutted S.E.C., there won't be much they can do. If 2008 had happened now, could we still pull through?
35
@Mary M Finally! Another American who remembers that Bill Clinton had multiple surpluses.
Our national memory makes it look like the country has late stage Alzheimers.
26
One gets an idea, how Trump acted as a businessman: threatening, disparaging and suing others - which he could only do because of his wealth.
Unfortunately for him, this behavior doesn't work in international politics.
17
This is the inevitable conflict between a president who is solely focused on his re-election - never mind the consequences of his words or actions - and the demonstrably qualified leader of the FED who is trying to do the actual job he was hired for, rather than merely the president's bidding.
I sincerely hope that Mr. Powell will endure the president's insults and stick it out as we desperately need an adult as FED chair as the global economy begins to soften.
25
Trump's policies, or rather kneejerks, are formulated around the vortex of his 2020 reelection, which affects just about everything he can touch and influence, whether overly hurried demands for a huge Feds rate cut, thumbscrew tariff hikes on China, accelerated troop withdrawal in Afghanistan, expedient de-humanizations of illegal and undocumented immigrants, urgent wholesale of public land leases to mining, oil and timber industries, or, as of late, pressuring the FCC to expedite a 5G telecommunication technology that will likely severely impact weather forecasting. All approaches meant to appeal to Trump's supporters and their financial interests. Even his bungling, ill-mannered and ridiculous attempt at buying Greenland is viewed through this lens. Nothing is sacred to him in this quest, every tactic is acceptable, every contrarian fact is a lie, the messages are incessantly repeated to metronomic tedium. His is the only truth as he now sees himself as the one and chosen one. When will this blasphemy of an imposter top?
18
According to Trump EVERYONE that does not agree with him is an enemy of the people. When he loses in 2020, he will label the people who voted against him as enemies of the people. Then when he refuses to accept defeat he will surround the White House with loyalist from the military, say the election was rigged, and declare himself the winner. Fox News with Hannity and Carlson will encourage him to declare Marshall law in the name of not letting Socialists take over our country.
Don't laugh it is where we are headed.
35
Well, Moscow Mitch blocking additional election security and Trotsky Trump calling our Federal Reserve the enemy. And we wonder who the REAL enemies are?
25
But trump doesn't mean any harm - it's just that he is not in a position to resist Putin's commands.
1
Imagine Mr Powell as President. An intelligent, prudent, thoughtful, principled public servant. Wow.
22
The hinges have come off. It's time for the 25th.
24
Trump just cares about his ego and his re-election.
He will do whatever he thinks will get him re-elected, and he thinks that interest rate cuts will prop up the economy until Nov 2020. After that he doesn’t care a whit.
12
Donald J. Trump is a clear and present danger to America and the world. Increasingly demented, obsessed by the threats he sees to his own hold on power and deranged by the prospect of prosecution for his crimes once he leaves office, he attacks everyone and keeps escalating his abuse, falsehoods, and integrity of American institutions. If America's elected representatives in Congress and the Senate do not move to get him out, the people should start protesting. Enough other countries have shown they can get rid of corrupt and crazy despots through popular pressure.
16
Some days I worry that we won't even make it to November 2020.
34
If Mr Powell doesn't have secret service protection the Democrats and any and all decent Republicans should demand he be granted protection.
We have seen how Trump's rhetoric in the past has led to murder on American. We need to protect Americans against Trump's erratic, hateful and extremely dangerous tweets. It is a strange form of terrorism but Trump is a serious domestic terrorist.
14
Emperor Trump chafes at any branch of government, including the Federal Reserve, that does not grovel and grant his every whim. How ironic that he did not renew Yellen's appointment, mainly because she's a woman, and now "his" white, male appointee fails to toe the Trump line.
8
Colbert dubbed him a "heretic to reality."
Anybody who does not believe in his crackpot Messianic distorted view of reality is labelled by him as the "enemy."
It is so predictable. Truth is "the enemy." The journalists are "the enemy." The Fed head is "the enemy."
He sure has a lot of enemies.
Because reality.
15
But not the likes of Putin or Un - trump, these dictators are trump's best pals.
2
Nothing frightens me more than the way the economy is being pimped with interest rate policy and massive deficits. Hyperinflation is waiting to happen.
8
Five Axioms of TRUMPWORLD
1--(Recalling President Truman's admonition about the difficulty of being President)---Mr.Trump can't stand the heat. But he won't get out of the kitchen.
2--Each new problem or issue makes it clear that President Trump is starting to come unhinged. But section 4 of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution will be of no help.
3--Over the past 2 1/2 years, Trump has frequently turned against his appointees, blamed them for his shortcomings, or fired them if they are reluctant to become his sycophants.
4--There are no facts, only virtual realities manipulable by those in power.
5--Donald J. Trump has no enemies. Only his friends hate him.
7
Trump having another temper tantrum like the narcissistic little boy he is blaming everyone but himself for his problems. The Fed is not our enemy because it remains independent of an authoritarian president trying to micromanage every aspect of the American economy . Trump is no longer restrained by adults in the White House and he will continue to unravel in public as chaos is his M.O.. Upcoming visit by Trump to G-7 in France will be a nitemare for attendees as Trump will rant and rave about all his grievances and why Putin is there for him to bond with dictator to dictator. Tweets will be rage filled and go on for hours as Trump vents his terror of losing the 2020 re-election which is the fault of so many interests not seeing him as the second coming.
12
I'll bet Ivanka and Jared have been on the phones all day long trying to find new sweatshops in Vietnam or Pakistan to make Ivanka's clothing line and jewelry as cheaply as it was made in China.
20
Of course, it’s crickets from the GOP. It’s not like Trump’s doing anything serious like wearing a tan suit.
20
Powell did not kiss the ring or the foot or whatever and kowtow to the mighty one. Now he's an enemy!
I wish I could do something to make me Trumps enemy. It would make my day and then some.
13
NYT (11/2/2017)
“He’s strong, he’s committed, he’s smart,” Mr. Trump said in the White House Rose Garden, where he introduced Mr. Powell as his choice. Using Mr. Powell’s nickname, the president said, “I am confident that with Jay as a wise steward of the Federal Reserve, it will have the leadership it needs in the years to come.”
12
First of all, Who cares if Trump is angry? It goes on and on like this with him. He’s an unhappy, angry individual ... and maybe more so from being in a job he simply doesn’t know to do. As for the nation’s enemy between Powell and him? Trust me, it’s not Powell. We have a president who refuses to take responsibility. And he is reckless in behavior out desperation to sustain what he thinks manliness looks like. Poor, misled man; in fact, it’s the opposite in demonstrative weakness and cowardice ... and it is a national embarrassment.
4
More Trump Wars!
How many enemies does Trump intentionally make--the press, our European allies, Canada, Mexico, President Obama, liberals and the entire Democratic Party--and now the Fed for daring to stand up to Trump's incoherent brain flash that: The economy is going fantastic but we need another tax cut because my election is coming up.
But it also strikes me that Trump may be genuinely incapable of thinking abstractly.
He truly does not grasp the concepts of ethics and law, and he doesn't seem to understand why we need such annoying things in society.
He hasn't a clue about the Constitution; I am pretty sure he hasn't read it, and he really can't fathom why such abstractions as ethics, law, and the Constitution are allowed to get in the way of what he wants to do. Clearly, he has no idea about the differences between democracies and authoritarian regimes and he doesn't care.
The Fed plays a crucial role in overseeing and managing our economy, and as structured, it is supposed to be free of political influences so it can make independent evaluations and decisions for the good of the economy and society. Recent presidents have honored this ethical separation between the presidency and the Fed, but not Trump.
Oh and about all these enemies of Trump. Two days ago, I suddenly realized that the Robert Mueller investigation report (Mueller testified before the House on 7/24/19) feels like it happened years ago and appears to be long forgotten. How'd that happen?
13
About the forgotten Mueller report - the SDNY and NY Attorney General will not forget. I hope they have all the paperwork done so they can charge trump on January 21, 2021. Only 17 more months to go before trump is OUT.
5
Thank you Mr. Powell and the fed for staying rational. We respect you even more !
10
Get this.
CNN reports that probably Trump misunderstood and thought *today* was the day Powell was to lower interest rates.
The FED’s next policy meeting when that may announce an interest rate reduction is in September.
I hope Tillerson scrambled the nuclear codes before he left.
19
I think we would be better off overall if our President did not consider the Federal Reserve Chairman and the leader of China (and Denmark for that matter) as our enemy.
6
trump is not "our" president - he is the president of his "base". The rest of America and he are mutual enemies.
7
@TBP Uh, the rest of America has no national leadership. Totally afloat...
1
I almost welcome a recession. Almost anything that will result in trump 2020 loss....which would be a gain for the US and indeed the world.
19
@Maureen -- But that recession can't start too soon. It needs to be peaking in late October and early November of 2020 to have the biggest impact.
Consumers, try to keep the spending up thru next spring. Then stop. Then start again once he's out of office.
Stable genius indeed.
7
@JM
Ok sounds reasonable
What's it going to take before senior administration officers invoke the 25th Amendment? We the citizens need, are entitled to, some relief from this craziness.
19
My only question is, who is our bigger enemy, Jay Powell or Chairman Xi?
• On November 2, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Powell to serve as the Chair of the Federal Reserve. On December 5, 2017, the Senate Banking Committee approved Powell's nomination to be Chair in a 22–1 vote, with Senator Elizabeth Warren casting the lone dissenting vote.
5
@WendyLou14 Now that's interesting. According to her website she was concerned that Powell would weaken financial regulation.
3
@Jack Toner
Which is proposed, if not already in place, for Banks.
1
It is time President Donald Trump stop futzing about with monetary policy and take the plunge with his strength.......fiscal policy. Push for a 20 percent income tax increase on incomes above $100,000. 50 percent of the net revenue to make a major reduction in present year budget shortfall, 50 percent to reduce payroll taxes for incomes below $50,000 annually. Increase purchasing power while reducing debit pressure. Brilliant move, Mr. President!
2
@usa999 --
Do you have any idea how ridiculous this suggestion sounds to anyone who lives in a high-tax, high cost state? Do you have any idea how many households make over $100K a year?
My 22 year old niece, who is a nurse, is starting her first job and will make $60K a year. Her 25 year-old fiancé, who put himself thru college while working full-time, makes about $75K a year between his full-time job and his part-time job as a mechanic. Once they get married next year, their household income will be comfortably over $100K.
Are we going to stop them from buying, fixing up and furnishing a house -- all of which create jobs here in America -- just because YOU happen to think that $100K is the point at which people make too much money?
3
@JM He didn't say anything about making too much money, he proposed a 20% tax increase. And the 100k would probably be on individuals so your beloved niece and hubby wouldn't even get touched.
But let's say they were. What is their current rate? Perhaps around 20%. So the increase would be 4%. Not really a death knell.
A tax increase like that will never happen under trump because it would impact the "right people" and then his pals on Wall Street and at the Mar-a-Lago club would not like him anymore, and we just can't hav that, can we.?
1
Thank goodness Powell is not an ACTING appointee, like so many other high officials in the Trump regime! Unlike all those others he has some independence.
12
It is hard to take Trump seriously anymore. He cries wolf so much that I'm surprised anyone listens to him. On the other hand, he has power which he wields in irrational ways which we should all be afraid of.
Mr. Powell, do the best you can with the unpredictable White House occupant.
31
Trump has gone too far. The falsification of the job growth data during the 2018 election is going to upset corporations and investors who depend on reliable data to make their decisions. It isn't just Powell who is at a loss as to what to do; all central banks are stuck with the President's irrational behavior and lies which undermines confidence in the US economy. That confidence is what has made the dollar strong.
19
Individual 1 didn't get the memo: the Fed is an independent body run by the chairman. Other departments within the government must submit budgetary requests that are subject to Congressional approval. The Fed doesn't. It has its own budget and operates away from government intrusion.
Unlike Individual 1 and his enablers, the Fed can't "wing it" when it comes to fiscal and/or monetary policy. It must look at key indicators in order to make a decision that's as informed as possible. I have a problem with one person Chairman Powell having that much power and control over the economies of the US and the world at large. However, considering the alternative which is Individual 1 at the helm, I wouldn't trade Chairman Powell nor the Fed for the world.
19
@Malicia The Fed Chair has 1 vote on the 12 member Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) that sets monetary policy. The position is not dictatorial but rather consensus building. Chairman Powell has no unitary authority over anything. The other 11 members have strong independent voices and none of them are bashful.
7
@Mark Close -- and many of them have already said that they went along with last month's cut reluctantly and have no intention of supporting another cut anytime soon.
So the stable genius just keeps ramping up the pressure on them by creating market volatility with his asinine tweets. Twitter should suspend his account as a source of economic terrorism.
6
@Malicia "Individual 1 didn't get the memo: the Fed is an independent body ... "
Trump got the memo. He just doesn't care. And as long as his Republican lackeys keep abandoning their oath to check the ex executive, trump will only get worse.
Vote Blue in 2020, up & down the ticket.
2
Mr. Powell has already accommodated Trump with a rate cut that wouldn't have been necessary without the vicissitudes of Trump's trade policies, a questionable move with such a strong economy.
19
The Federal Reserve Chairman is now an enemy of the state. My God!! How much longer will Republicans sit idly by watching and supporting Trump while he tears our democracy apart piece by institutional piece? How can you abide this worsening, ever more destructive craziness?
63
Make no mistake, Trump is not the only problem here. The reason the R’s aren’t doing anything is that they are equal parts of the problem!
I changed to Independent as a result of my revulsion for R tactics that include but are not limited to the fool in the White House, Moscow Mitch and his enablers are just as big a part of the problem.
9
The enemy is POTUS!!!! Obviously DJT does not understand what the FED mandate is, and how it is he who is effecting the world economy wiht his policies which failed this country 100 years ago!
15
Trump's interference in the need for the 'Fed' to have true independence from the Executive, is appallingly stupid. And the markets are responding accordingly, as all they are asking is some stability and predictability, not the capricious whims of an unhinged bully in-chief, glaringly ignorant of any basic rules...that he feels is exempt of...to everybody's loss.
12
Dear America,
The rest of the world, and that includes Putin, recognizes that your President is an incompetent fool, pathologically dishonest, and in all likelihood mentally ill. He is a clear and present danger. How can you let this tragedy continue to unfold? We here in Canada are terrified as we are undoubtedly to be considered enemies as well. Do something. Please.
John in Canada
61
John,
We’re huddled in a ‘safe room’ and he’s taking us out one at a time and shooting us. What can we do?
5
@John David James
If the will of the people of the United States mattered at all, the stable genius would not be the president. Unfortunately, there are some voters in Kentucky and a few other deeply Republican states who hold the rest of us hostage to this lunatic.
If we could do something, we would.
7
@John David James
You and the rest of the world are right. More than half of the citizens of the U.S.A. recognize what you recognize. That should allow us to do something except for the fact that the non-democratic quirks of the electoral process in our "democratic-republic" are an impediment to a guarantee of majority rule.
But take heart, dear brothers and sisters in the Great North and the rest of the world! At the pace he's going, and with the grace of whatever is good in the universe, by Nov. 2020 (if we're all still around), he will have alienated even more of the populace, and, electoral quirks and all, we will have turned him out out of office and over to the judicial system in the state of New York.
7
Well shoot. All this time I thought the media was the enemy of America. Now we find out it's been Jerome H. Powell all along. I'm waiting for Vlad to be classified by donald as "friend" of America of course along with the NRA.
28
@KC
Let's not forget that Donald already said he fell in love with Kim Jong Un. Strange judge of character...
1
I can't believe we have angry grandpa shaking his fist at the kids walking on his lawn as POTUS.
13
Time to look at the 25th amendment. He's dangerous. The frustrating thing is that he makes some good points about how China has taken advantage of the US. Unfortunately his insanity completely negates the narrative.
16
His enemy list just keeps on growing...
Predictions that Trump will sooner-or-later self-detonate is like predicting that he might fib.
How much of the rest of the world he'll also take out is the premonition of the hour.
15
@JAM : I think Trumps enemies list must be about as long as R.Nixon's by now. But of course he must have the greatest list in the history of the world or he would not be happy.
7
If a 1/4 or 1/2 pt drop in interest is what's going to keep this economy from going off the ledge then the only real bump in the economy has been on the spec side of the stock market.
People today forget that on a "risk" pyramid stock speculation is one notch below drilling for oil or trading Bitcoin futures.
No folks when the Prime is 2% you aren't guaranteed that 15% return speculating in the stock market.
donald shouldn't feel too bad. Just about anyone that personally stuck his nose in markets and situations where it doesn't belong would have screwed up the economy of the planet.
3
Our biggest enemy is not Powell or Xi. It is Trump.
35
I expect Trump at some point to exclaim, "Will no one rid me of this troublesome banker?"
With apologies to Saint Thomas Becket.
13
Imagine it were the summer of 2008, and we had Trump, not Bush, working with Geithner, Paulson, and Bernanke. Or, well, blustering, blocking, threatening, flailing as the ship went down.
Imagine a Greater Depression than then 1930s, perhaps a total collapse. That's where someone like Trump would have taken us. And still might.
I trust the Fed based upon their work with the Executive Branch and the big banks, even under the often inept George W. Bush. Our current President? I don't even think he is right in the head, since I suspect he's got late-stage Neurosyphilis.
20
Trump reminds me of the former Philippine President, Joseph E. Estrada, who was a TV Soap star and was elected due to his name recognition and unjustified swagger. The results of both presidents will go down in history as a complete an utter debacle. The similarities of these two men is frightening.
14
"“My only question is, who is our bigger enemy, Jay Powell or Chairman Xi?,” Mr. Trump wrote"
If he's keeping a list of enemies, I'd like to join it. Where can I send my application?
15
Trump’s trade war with China is profoundly destabilizing and must be ended.
Trump is jeopardizing a strong U.S. economy to feed his ego.
The Fed is overmatched in this unprecedented situation.
Trump’s ouster can’t happen fast enough
13
Each day brings more disgraceful behavior from this so-called President. Where is the bottom for this guy? And who's finally going to say, "The Emperor has no clothes"?
11
There is no bottom with trump, but the SDNY and NY AG will point out his state of undress to him in the first quarter of 2021. I'm predicting the insanity defense.
2
It’s hard to imagine that anyone would vote for Mr. Trump in 2020. It’s become a slap-dash, key stone cops experiment in turmoil. Even his base must sense that “something isn’t right.”
Like we’ve gone from a great nation, a beacon of hope to the world, to a laughing stock.
The blame game? It’s all he knows. He doesn't bother with solutions or ideas or answers.
Yet, he is “the chosen one” . . . . Right?
14
"I only hire the best people" -DJT
11
"Powell Highlights the Fed’s Limits. Trump Labels Him an ‘Enemy.’
Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chairman, left the door open to further rate cuts but said President Trump’s trade policies posed challenges."
Trump is getting so much worse as each day passes. Any disagreement or opposite position against Trump automatically brings an accusation of "Enemy." Trump is seeing "Enemies" everywhere and that is not healthy for Our Country.
It is not possible to reason with Trump, nor have a normal conversation with him. Any sign of non-agreement with Trump and his huge ego rears it's ugly head and he shuts off the conversation.
7
Just when you think this incompetent charlatan and his minions can't harm the country more, he sends out a new tweet, and causes the world's markets to collapse even further.
Where is the US Congress while this madman destroys our economy and our industries? Have we no elected federal officials that are American patriots? Why is the Congress letting Trump reek havoc on our country?
9
@Joe Miksis Don't be blaming Congress in general. You must know that it's the Republicans in Congress.
1
@Joe Miksis
The Republicans are on a PERMANENT VACATION!
1
Trump is going full Venezuela.
Next thing you know he’s going to be nationalizing any company that doesn’t do what he says, and he’s going to order the treasury to just “print money” our way out.
Dear Trump supporters,
I hope you like soup. Because after Trump is finished with the economy it’ll be what we are all eating breakfast and... well breakfast because there won’t be enough to go around for lunch and dinner.
13
That's right Mr. Trump, we're all your enemies, all 73% of us. You who swore to serve your country (all of us, not just those of your own party) now consider only the 24% of Americans that are Republicans to not be your enemies.
When is enough enough? The Federal Reserve chairman as big an enemy as Xi Jinping? Ordering companies to move their production out of China to other countries? What countries have a labor force or supply chain in place to handle such vast production needs? It would take decades to put this in place. Who is going to pay for such an incredible feat of industrial magic? Another federal bailout like that for the US farmers? How would they carry out such a transition? Who would take seriously such a deranged idea from someone at the end of his term?
This guy is clearly nuts. Please remove him based on the 25th Amendment now before he destroys all of us. We can't wait for 2021.
I watched video of a recent Trump rally while Trump was bragging about how much the presidency has cost him. The supporters behind him were clearly bored and dismayed, realizing that this guy really might be crazy. Either that or they felt embarrassed to have their video captured at one of Trump's rallies where he was carrying on like a fool.
18
Poor Powell has been Jeff Sessioned.
7
He tells Powell no and calls him names. Likewise, we will say no to trump in 2020. He and his mob must leave the White House permanently.
11
"Who is our biggest enemy, Jay Powell or Chairman Xi … or Donald Trump?"
7
And for the self-described genius and deal maker, what is his vision of the end game.
10
@cg/ej........ chaos, which trump loves, how else can he destroy the economy and America?
6
Now the Federal Reserve Chair is "the enemy." The press is the enemy, Jews who are Democrats are disloyal, former appointees are either enemies or incompetent, female leaders here and in other countries are enemies, if not downright nasty. Obama is his perceived enemy. Political opponents are his enemies, the FBI and CIA are against him. He only hires or surrounds himself with the best until he feels threatened. His whining, er winning, is tiresome.
32
@Steven Excuse my error as Trump did not tweet Mr. Powell was "the enemy" rather he questioned who was "our bigger enemy, Jay Powell or Chairman XI?"
He tweeted that Xi and Powell are both the enemy and asked which was the bigger enemy.
2
We are in trump-induced turmoil, and Putin and Xi hope we stay this way by manipulating our election to support the turmoil. Let's grab our country back, voters! We have other emergencies to give our attention to; climate issues, fires, education, healthcare, environmental concerns, military weapons in the hands of the public.
Let's live by our laws and reality rather than by tweetstorm and fox entertainment.
24
Proposed campaign slogan for the Democrats: “It’s the instability, stupid.”
36
Does the current White House occupant realize that "they need to cut rates!" and "the economy is strong!" are contradictory?
719
@Rick
The voters to whom his blame-casting statements are really directed certainly do not.
106
@Rick
No.
32
No. No, he does not.
21
Trump has just tweeted, "Who is our bigger enemy," Fed Chairman Powell or Chinese President XI?" Answer: none of the above. "Our bigger enemy" against American security, economic stability, and indeed democracy is Donald Trump—the winner by a mile.
1942
@Wiltontraveler
I'm fairly certain that Trump is Putin's apprentice; however, if Putin ever really took over power, he'd eliminate Trump in a heartbeat. He doesn't seem like a man who suffers fools easily.
147
@Wiltontraveler
Add the Republican Party in there.
101
@Wiltontraveler
Well said. True Mr. trump along with his republican cronies is the true enemy of the USA's stability and the growth in the future.
114
Is invoking the 25th Amendment a swifter and more appropriate response than an Impeachment inquiry?
19
While I frequently find the many of left leaning democrats naively idealistic, Trump comes across as self absorbed and dangerously unstable, and Trump's erratic behavior will worsen as we approach the election.
19
Trump has said that it doesn't matter if the economy takes a short dive in the trade war with China.
He feels that in the long run it will be good for the country.
Like everything this idiot does, it's not well thought out because he doesn't have a clue about what he's doing.
This fool has no real knowledge of international trade and all he's ever done is hire lawyers when things don't go his way.
The biggest problem with him is that he thinks he knows everything, when in fact he's an imbecile.
1232
@BTO
My sentiments exactly.
75
Bingo!
71
@BTO
I beg to differ; I doubt Trump has anyone concern about the economic good of the country. Donald Trump's only concern is his own economy. I am sure- somewhere, someone(s) will be making a whole lot of money off the Trade War.
61
The first job of an executive is to hire competent people to implement their vision.
Trump hired Powell - any deficiency in Powell’s performance would fall squarely on trump, obviously.
Of course we have many more indicators of trumps lack of ability to manage.
But he definitely shouldn’t get a pass on criticizing any of his hires.
19
The FED needs to consider the psychology of Trump more than macro-economic principles. An interest rate cut by the FED will only facilitate Trump's trade war. That should be the lesson from the recent interest rate cut. With interest rates near historical lows, the best approach is to sit tight in lieu of accommodating Trump's impulsive instincts. Trump's fear of defeat in the 2020 election may lead to his retrenchment on tariffs. TheFED can best help the global economy and the U.S. by doing less.
23
@Dave
Interest Rate CUTS for the Rich. No interest in or at all for those Americans trying to SAVE!
3
Trump is just throwing out distractions. The real problem is that economic expansion has not improved. Economies that are big, are barely perturbed by the kinds of actions that a government can implements. But the small effects of his efforts will not satisfy the electorate if the expansion diminishes noticeably.
4
@Casual Observer
I agree with you that this is more distraction then sincere position by Trump.
He actually appears to be also setting up a list of "fall guys" for when his efforts to dominate China fail. Trump is never wrong and never makes mistakes in his mind... so he has to have fall guys in his pocket at all times... and he is pretty good with creating fall guys by twitter.. since his base is completely sound bite driven and lacks any apparent critical thinking skills.
12
Gives me the willies that Trump is anywhere near monetary policy.
Even if he were correct, which I doubt, he obviously has no respect for the permanent damage meddling with fed independence will cause.
27
If by willies you mean your entire life flashing before your eyes, I sadly agree.
7
@SRW
Well, that permanent damage has prompt solution to repair the damage. Congress can help to it now, or we will repair next year.
2
This is some really serious and dangerous posturing by Mr. Trump. I don't think he has any sense of that and that makes his comments even more scary and dangerous.
23
Powell should know that a little independence would go a long way in this case.
12
I agree that China should be held accountable for lying and stealing they have been doing but Mr.Trump is not the one to fix it .The Chinese may be a lot of things but stupid is not one of them.Trump is simply out of his depth.
26
Didn't the chosen one choose Powell to head the Fed?
25
@RNS
:-)
3
Jerome H. Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, is the only voice of reason and intelligence in Trump world. I am guessing he should start taking the photos off his desk and start packing because anyone that disagrees with Trump is fired. Trump has no idea what he is doing while trying to play President of the United States.
21
What appears obvious to the rest of the world needs to sink into the minds of many millions more Americans. Your President is sliding into madness. Do something about it.
85
@Norman Dupuis: Sliding? Hardly. He’s there. Big Time.
15
@Norman Dupuis
Actually, there are a handful of Americans in the cabinet and Congress who could solve the problem very quickly.
Unfortunately, they are more concerned about their own re-election than about the state of the country, much less the world. And it's been eminently clear to anyone who is paying attention that the "stable genius" doesn't listen to anything but sycophantic yes-people. The fact that more Americans voted against him than for him in 2016 doesn't matter -- more people supported him where it meant something.
There is nothing those of us who have opposed him can do but watch in horror as our worst nightmares come true.
7
Anyone should be proud to be considered as Trump's enemy. Anyone not his enemy should be ashamed of themselves.
37
This is what happens when you give in and buy chewing gum for that bratty kid throwing a tantrum at the checkout counter. He figures if it worked once it will work again.
Time for a time out. I never spanked my kids, but they never acted like this. May be time for a little swat on the bottom.
27
How many "best and brightest" has Trump "fired"?
I'm 63. I got plenty of time for you to make a list....
Gee....for such a stunning Executive, he really picks poorly when he awards a position....
I wonder if he knows about all those hiring services out there? Maybe Tim Cook could show him how to log on to those websites.....
8
Our ignorant President is on a bout of self-destruction pulling well proven American institutions into the gutter and maligning anybody who dares to think or act independently. While this silly approach may increase the rating of an inconsequential clown-show like "The Apprentice", it destroys the very substance of what America is all about and makes us worse off. When enough people are fed up and throw Trump out of office they must also remember to do the same with his unprincipled Republican supporters who tolerate and embolden Trump's outrageous behavior and how put party before country.
23
Fortunately, Mr. Trump is not only a very stable genius but also the Chosen One to deal with China, as we know from his statement to the press. He can win the trade war single-handed. What a great man! No wonder he is King of Israel!
10
Look at your reflection in an oversize mirror Trump. You are the enemy of the Constitution you have sworn to protect and defend.
20
"My only question is, who is our bigger enemy, Jay Powell or Chairman Xi?” Mr. Trump whines. Oh, Mirror, Mirror, on the wall! If it's Mr. Trump you see, he's the one it's gonna be!"
15
Outside of Chairman Powell and the word "Fed," does anyone think DJT has any idea regarding the Fed's function, the other members and which regions they represent, the fact that president's historically have viewed the Fed as a separate entity to serve as they see fit, and that blaming the Fed will likely backfire?
From the outside looking in, it appears his advisers provide him with a few key words every few days and he utilizes them as he sees fit...typically out of context and mangled beyond description. And adds a few threats to the mix to gain some media attention and add a little chaos to a volatile situation. Bingo.
It's doubtful most Americans are paying much attention anymore. It's much more fun to be enjoying summer than being whiplashed by the day by chaos, lies, ineptitude and incivility by someone elected to be a leader.
Just thinking how peaceful things would be if DJT permanently vacationed at one of his golf course, sans cellphone, with plenty of fast-food and a little duct tape for those moments not spent eating. Just until 2021?
Quiet. Peace. A stable stock market. Fewer antidepressants. Less hostility in the world. Some basis for relative sanity.
We can only wish.
29
So what if Jay Powell takes the percentage rate to zero and Trump is still not happy and the economy doesn't turn around as he wants, what then? Trump is the instigator of this trade war, doesn't even understand how it works, and wants everyone else to clean up the mess that he has made. This is what happens when ignorance is compounded by a lack of discipline and governing through anger. It is the essence of shooting from the hip and then being upset about the results of what you have done. The G7 this weekend could be epic in this environment.
27
@Meg
The countries that DO have 0 or below 0 rates...are they doing that well?
NO.
So WHY is this a good idea?
6
@Ignatz It's not, but Trump is the one talking about it as if it would solve all the problems. I think he's just looking for a scapegoat that his base will accept. Powell is his choice.
5
Remember the Trump Train? It’s hurtling towards the cliff. An impartial Federal Reserve is critical for the rest of the world to have confidence in our economy. If he destroys the Fed, we’ll be headed towards a catastrophic economic meltdown.
18
@NDG If the Drumpf train isn't stopped he will "brilliantly" take all of us over the cliff.
4
As heinous as POTUS continues to be, it's important to remember that about 40% of the country agrees with him. He's a petulant child and bully, but they see him as a 'tough guy'. Go figure.
21
What are the so-called conservatives doing about this recklessness? Nothing!
Our economy is not bulletproof, get him out of there before it's too late. A nation can't be run like this for long.
40
@mjw Send him to Greenland on a fact-finding tour. And leave him there.
Yes, Conservatives are prostitutes to this awful leader who embraces no values other than self-service.
7
Mr. Trump is personally trying to destroy the U.S. economy and lead the U.S. into a recession. It is not the role of the fed to counteract the negative impact that Mr. Trump's trade war with China has had on the economy. It is not Mr. Powell who is the enemy, it is Mr. Trump.
19
How ironic that the one man in Washington who is looking out for all of us by focusing on the long term implications of his decisions is being dragged through the mud by the one man in Washington who is only looking out for himself.
Donald Trump's inability to control himself is making matters worse every minute,as he tweets out his frustrations for all the world to see. It makes your spine curl to think of him presiding over a real war, instead of all these self-induced crises of his own making.
21
Like always, Trump wants others to solves all the problems his created, and then take credit for it.
13
Given the news that China will retaliate with new tariffs of its own, and that Trump once again is unhinged and attacking the Fed, perhaps it's not a surprise that the Stock Market is falling today. It also looks like the dollar is falling in value to the British pound and the Euro. Perhaps it's Trump's strategy to make things so bad that the Fed will have to act to save us from a total collapse.
6
@Skeptic I don't think his "plans" extend ten minutes after "Fox and Friends."
We've been in crisis since January 2017. Now the American people are going to feel it. And, one hopes, act!
5
There are two paths before Donald Trump. One leads to his re-election and the end of the US as we know it. The other leads to prison, for himself and likely some of his children. What do you believe he would do to avoid the latter?
This daily digital shotgun blast to the face... it's only going to get worse. Everybody better get ready. After Labor Day, he's going to turn the crazy up to eleven.
24
Trump sees his big beautiful stock market as another Taj Mahal. He's looking to add ten more stories.
5
Trump and his divisive diatribe continues to cause increased chaos, which Trump did say was his strategy and unfortunately it is the only thing that knucklehead is capable of accomplishing. The issue however is who is who is going to take a stand against this autocrat? Hey congress if you have not read John Jay's "Address to the People of the State of New-York on the Subject of the Constitution, Agreed upon at Philadelphia, the 17th of September, 1787." please do, as there is no time like the present to see some of that 1776 unselfish courage stuff.
12
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell might want to do his job at the Federal Reserve and grow a backbone.
Otherwise History is going to be remarkably unkind to a knowledgeable economist, who kowtowed to a mentally ill president with a staggering past history of bankruptcies, and failure to pay his workers.
13
He also said the Fed should “Fight or go home.” Maybe they’re afflicted with monetary policy spurs - a recurring disability which makes them unable to join the fight.
6
At least Trump made one decent appointment.
8
The POTUS who calls KJU, MBS, and Putin "good friends", calls the Fed Chair an enemy and it simply evaporates without notice. At what point will this result in outrage?
18
With a "very stable genius" like Trump at the nation's helm, who needs enemies? He has proven his ability to scale up his personal business failures to national economics failures.
12
Despite the bankrupt “leadership” he provides, is “the president” aware that he can’t simply declare the country bankrupt and walk away? Is there anybody in this sorry excuse for an administration with stones enough to tell Trump where he stick his presidency?
8
I have worked in management for many years and I can tell you with certainty that Trump would have been fired a hundred times over for his conduct. If the Senate doesn't at least censure him for this misconduct, then we have no balance of powers and I fear for our democracy. The Federal Reserve is not the enemy. It is fundamental to the operation of the economy and is not the puppet of the president. Trump misconduct is appalling, dangerous and not to be normalized. Doing so only enables and escalates the severity of his disordered tenure.
20
Trump should be summarily impeached by his open refusal to respect the independence of our central bank, aka the Federal Reserve, a cornerstone of our financial stability.
15
This is what happens when we elect an unsuccessful small organization “leader”. He knows nothing about leadership.
14
The market didn’t drop because of Powell’s comments. It dropped after Trump attacked his own Fed Chair.
14
For how much longer are the GOP members of Congress going to allow this chaotic, woefully incompetent con man to run America into the ground? When is "enough" enough?
14
Republicans obviously have no shame if they allow this presidential meddling to continue without protest.
9
Every day is more outrageous and absurd than the last under our shared national dystopian nightmare.
12
How satisfying to know that someone who has absolutely no clue about the financial well-being of our nation is bellowing, bloviating, boasting, and belittling, on a whim or as he sees fit. This is comparable to that famous ancient musician, Nero, fiddling while Rome .... well, you know how that story ended.
11
The appointment of Jerome Powell is about the only decision our President has made in his almost 3 year reign that I approve of. Chairman Powell is excellent!
Stick to your guns, Mr. Powell. You’re doing the right thing. Don’t let the President get to you.
13
Deja vu? Trump has been down this road before, where he takes a failed business strategy--in this case tariffs -- and sticks to it until the business venture ultimately fails and he files bankruptcy to avoid paying his debts and creditors. Then he blames someone else for the failure, in this case, Mr. Powell. Mismanagement of the economy should be an impeachable offense! We should not give this conman another four years to bankrupt --what used to be the world's strongest economy.
10
The real question is, "Who is America's greatest enemy, Chairman Xi or President Trump?"
13
If markets and the business community are supposed to favor stability and certainty, how does one explain the optimism we've seen on Wall Street and among the business community (and farmers, too)? The Trump era has been nothing if not unstable and uncertain; that's Trump's entire game. yes, there have been downturns and selloffs, but the market always seems to come back for more. And farmers keep supporting Trump because they think he's actually helping them(?). Irrationality rules, and stupidity isn't far behind.
7
How long must we endure Trump? Are we going to wait until the global economy’s a smoldering ruin?
9
Fed has two mandates from congress. Keep the unemployment low and keep the inflations low. Fed is doing its job. You do yours instead of tweeting insults at others all day long. Your actions are transparent. Your tweet storms are intended to distract us from your failing presidency. They won't.
11
I figured that Trump would fire Powell by this point, but now realize that he needs to keep him as an important scapegoat in Trump's delusionary landscape. Will they actually end up taking Trump out of the WH on a stretcher, wailing about his enemies, and expecting to be be transported by God to his golden seat in Heaven as the Chosen One?
6
@Paul from Oakland. Trump doesnt believe that rapture nonsense. He just says he does to win the evangelical vote
2
Trump says we do not need China. Why do we need Trump? I have no answer to that.
8
@Areader
I wonder if the soybean farmers would agree that "We don't need China."
3
At best, Trump is seriously unbalanced.
7
trump asks who's the bigger enemy, Powel (trump spelling) or Xi.
Astonishing that a US President would ask such a question.
My question is who's the more delusional, trump or "the Chosen One?" In either case, that person should not be sitting in the Oval Office!
7
At some point “Abuse of Power” from this President is going to get to a breaking point. How long can the Republican Party condone this absurd nonsense from an obviously severely flawed man?
10
@Peter Z
For as long as the base says so. And judging by his 89% approval rating in the Republican party they will condone for awhile
2
To Bernard Bonn (NY Times pick) who writes
".. will tie its hands if it cuts rates significantly and then has to respond to a recession. There will be no where to go if it cuts too much now."
This is not correct.
Just as the Central Banks invented QE to suppress long term interest rates they can invent new policies to make deep negative interest rates work
From the IMF blog , February 2019
"Cashing In: How to Make Negative Interest Rates Work"
From the abstract, quote
" Severe recessions have historically required 3–6 percentage points cut in policy rates. If another crisis happens, few countries would have that kind of room for monetary policy to respond.
To get around this problem, a recent IMF staff study shows how central banks can set up a system that would make deeply negative interest rates a feasible option."
https://blogs.imf.org/2019/02/05/cashing-in-how-to-make-negative-interest-rates-work/
Trump did not win the 2016 election because of his great hair, his skill as an orator and a debater; or because voters believed that he is a good family man, an honest man who pays his taxes, a dignified man, a compassionate man, a man who cares about people in trouble, a man who treats women and minorities well, a man who knows a lot about foreign affairs, economics, terrorism, education and the Second Amendment or because they believed that Mrs. Clinton was the devil.
They voted for him because he is a lout and a zany with big appetites, a mean man, a crude man, a humorless man, an ignorant man, an unethical man, a big crook who gets away with doing things that other people don’t get away with, who is notoriously effective at lying; and who as President maybe would do some things that would end up helping them or at least hurting their perceived enemies among liberals, minorities and refugees from poor countries who are intent on stealing their jobs.
Which is to say that they see in him a man who satisfies all of their notions of what is good, true and beautiful in themselves.
He will be almost impossible to beat in 2020.
8
@A. Stanton
Sad, but you nailed it. You have succinctly defined the new American character.
3
@A. Stanton
Not impossible if everyone votes.
VOTE!!
3
Trump "hereby" orders American companies to take their operations out of China. Next week? Just with a snap of his fingers? Investors and the general public remain in a state of denial about how emotionally unbalanced is this man. Human nature may be that as long as someone makes money for you, it doesn't matter what is their state of mind.
5
November 2017: “He’s strong, he’s committed, he’s smart,” Mr. Trump said in the White House Rose Garden, where he introduced Mr. Powell as his choice. Using Mr. Powell’s nickname, the president said, “I am confident that with Jay as a wise steward of the Federal Reserve, it will have the leadership it needs in the years to come.”
August 2019: "My only question is, who is our bigger enemy, Jay Powel or Chairman Xi?"
Apparently the press did not do a good enough job vetting Chairman Powell.
5
Is Trump having a mental breakdown? Let's get some honesty from the employees of the West Wing. It's their patriotic duty to the nation they serve.
8
As a Jewish woman, who just yesterday was an enemy of the people, I want to welcome Mr. Powell into the fold.
13
Caliban is now completely out of control. The time has come to activate the twenty-fifth ammendment.
6
The only enemy this country must deal with and deal with immediately is Donald Trump himself. The man has become completely unhinged and certainly doesn't belong in the position of United States President. The damage this man has done and is doing to our country boggles the mind.
8
"We don’t need China and, frankly, would be far....better off without them" ????
I feel pity for Powell and anyone else in the Trump administration who has to fight for reality.
6
Of course, the real enemy of America is the president of the USA, Mr. Trump. Unfortunately for us, he doesn't even know that fact.
5
I'm guessing Janet Yellen is really, really glad that Trump did not reappoint her. It is shameful how Trump is bullying public servants who are just trying to do their jobs.
5
I initially thought Powell a poor and partisan choice for the Fed, but he has way more intelligence and principle than the “man” who appointed him, who, as usual, has turned on him as soon as he refused to kiss his master’s...ring
3
Proving once again if you don't do or say exactly what Trump wants, you're the enemy. Powell needs to get up some guts and stand his ground!
6
On cutting rates
"there is correspondingly a case for partially reversing recent Fed rate hikes, and cutting rates now as insurance against a possible future slump — getting ahead of the curve. Donald Trump is the worst possible person to be making this argument, but that doesn’t mean that the argument is wrong."
Paul Krugman NYT 6/20/2019
It is time for the 25th amendment ! Trump is a know-nothing man with the most selfish personality in memory. His disastrous administration will bankrupt the country, something Trump should remember well from his so-called business career. As his words and actions daily destroy our once great country he now begins his vile attack on his one decent appointment . It is clear to all that Trump is irrational, vile, vindictive and mentally unbalanced. Congress must remove him from office, one way or another. A mad man at the helm will only shipwreck our ship of state.
5
Is that the national or the Trump supporters’ or the Presidential “our”?
1
Trump continues to bully, insult and harass people and things just keep getting worse. It’s almost like he has no ability to learn from his mistakes.
3
Classic...If you don't do as I want, then you are the enemy and I will do all I can to discredit you, even though I have no clue what I am talking about, ever.
8
America your president is out of control. For as bad as Pence could be, he couldn't be nearly as bad as Trump. You have mechanisms to remove him - use them.
6
This is indeed a tough choice: Shall we put our faith in the most respected group of financial and economic experts in America, or the failed multiple-bankruptcy sociopath. Difficult..........
4
Our only enemy of the people, in dealing with our economy is not Powell, it is Trump.
23
Kudos to Mr. Powell for calling out Mr. Trump’s role in this economy. He should probably pack up his office though. There will probably be a trans-Atlantic tweet tonight, thanking him for his service.
12
@JCAZ
Trump can't fire him. If he could have, he would have done it already, and he would have made Jared Kushner or Donald Jr. the Fed Chairman.
11
@JCAZ
Fortunately the president does not have the power to remove him.
5
The president does not have the authority to dismiss the Chair of the Federal Reserve Board.
4
The problem is small levels of inflation benefit mostly middle class home owners, who’s real interest rates decrease with a rise in inflation. This does come however, at the expense of the rich. The average American unfortunately has been programed to think even minimal levels of inflation is bad and of course the rich power brokers hate it, so it’s a lose lose for a president to see a rise in inflation in matter how small.
1
Unemployment is not as low as the government is saying it is. When companies begin to hire older, more experienced people I'll believe that unemployment is low. Second, Trump is causing the economic problems with his constant trade war that he claims to be an easy win. If it's so easy to win why hasn't China caved in to his demands? Answer: because they don't have to and they know it.
Trump is re-enacting, on a country and world stage, what he did to his own companies back in the day. The only difference is that the consequences are far more severe now. They affect the entire world and have the potential to send the country into a severe recession/depression from which many Americans will not recover. The recovery under Obama wasn't that great because businesses haven't felt any obligations to the country or the communities they deal with. In other words the jobs that were created were not steady decent jobs with good wages. What we'll get next will be no jobs and lots of poverty.
Trump and his administration are toxic.
32
@hen3ry
They just admitted a 500K error over about 14 months. Of course it was to the high side.
2
Germany doesn't control the ECB. It's board does. They are mandated to maintain a certain inflation rate. There is now a political although not a policy nod to jobs. This is identical to the fed. Trump is a danger to the world.
20
Apropos of the president of the United States labeling the chair of the Federal Reserve, the president's appointee, the 'enemy' for the appointee's attempts to steer the economy through the recessionary headwinds the president's beyond-absurd trade wars and tariffs created:
I'm keeping my copy of the 25th Amendment on my nightstand.
24
Maybe a little off topic, but when I was younger interest rates at banks for checking and savings account allowed people to save a little money AND get a decent return on their Savings. Compound interest encouraged people to save. Most poorer people don't want to risk what little they have so they shun the "poker" market. It'd be nice if interest rates were a little higher for the average Joe. Banks are making a killing lending out free money to those who can afford it, and again the little guy is left behind.
42
@Mike -- thank you for bringing this up. Since all the dotard seems to care about is the rate at which his failing real estate enterprise can borrow money, I think he's forgotten about attracting savings.
16
Cutting interest rates are not going to salvage the economy here at the end of the current expansion. Trump is like the rider who beats his horse to death.
29
It's high time that the SEC looks into Trump making threats to manipulate the stock market for the benefit of his friends and family.
It wasn't long ago that Carl Icahn dumped steel stocks before Trump began his tariffs. It this didn't smell like insider trading then, it reeks of it, now.
55
@Alex It's time to ban stock buybacks again. They were illegal before 1982 and recognized as the market manipulation they are. Trump isn't the only one manipulating the stock market.
14
@Alex
Icahn was pushing Apple to dramatically accelerate their buyback program, not because it would help Apple, but that it would raise AAPL above what Icahn’s average position was. Cook held his ground and did the responsible thing.
5
Trump nominated and employed a whole bunch of people who Trump now says are incompetent, enemies, etc, including:
Rex Tillerson
Michael Cohen
Anthony Scarmucci
James Mattis
Jerome Powell
Omaroso Manigualt
Reince Priebus
Sean Spicer
etc.
I wonder how anyone can think that Trump is a stable genius when he keeps picking people that he hates within weeks (or days)?
Kirsten Nielsen
John Kelly
Jeff Sessions
H.R. McMaster
Steve Bannon
46
The Donald feels entitled to personal control of all government agencies, as he regards his subordinates and appointees as brainless lackeys put in place to carry out his commands. He, on the other hand, seems to take his cues from Fox News talking heads and his peer group of dictators.
32
@Reed Erskine Trump is running a Soviet-style, centrally controlled economy. Ironic given his continual railing against socialism! The free market is dead.
5
@Mike Irony indeed! We have yet to invent a name for this new economic model...except for Trumpism.
1
25th Amendment? Anyone?
47
How the GOP sticks with Trump as he takes us farther down the rabbit hole is beyond me. Trump would prefer to have completely uneducated minions running every part of the US.
37
Trump's irrational and impulsive actions have worried Republicans sufficiently that perhaps the 25th Amendment will be considered. If so, and Trump assumes Pence will pardon him, he may have a problem if Pence looks at history rather than Trump.
At any rate, the State of New York will deal with Mister Trump and his band of crooks.
22
Because this is normal behavior for any US President! I can only imagine Trump voters grew up watching only professional wrestling and assumed it was a model for how to behave in life.
27
The Republicans in the House and Senate are complicit with their leader in the White House.
This combination of actions by the president and the inaction of both houses of congress are an abrogation of duty.
The voters must take action to correct the consequences of the deliberate strategy of Republicans from which our country is now suffering.
All the wars and economic downturns that we've seen over the past 50 years pale in comparison to the dismantling we are witnessing at the hands of our current Republican government leaders.
Have they no conscience at all?
24
It is obvious the President sees the Stock Market as the economy rather than a legal gambling device where the rich pray on the working class. The market is still up about 15% for the year continuing its decade long rise without corresponding growth in in the economy. Rents are up, wages are almost stagnant... the only thing growing is the wealth of the ruling class. Powell and the Fed are merely scapegoats for failed policies of the administration and its cable TV economists.
22
Corporations need stable markets. An increasing trade war and complaints about the Fed don’t qualify as stable.
26
But wait... didn't Trump appoint Powell, and doesn't Trump only hire the best? Are we tired of winning yet?
37
Trump wants high growth and low taxes at any price - even if the economy crashes and burns after his presidency. He hopes to be remembered for the good times. If the economy crashes under his watch, he would blame everyone and everything under the sun but himself. His only long-term interest is his own wealth.
32
Nobody talks about the benefits of a stronger currency: It makes it difficult for manufacturers to export, so they have to cut costs, lay off workers, get leaner and be more competitive to compete with overseas players. A stronger currency can make domestic industries more efficient, which is better in the long run.
We live in an age of low rates and weak currencies globally, and the world economy is very inefficient. Manufacturers are protected by weak currencies, so their costs are high, and they hire too many people. Businesses and households show huge profit margins because rates are so low. They haven't had to deal with austerity in years. Even governments have been able to borrow at negative real rates, which roughly corresponded to the increase in spending in the late 2000s.
Things may seem to be good, but I think many people, deep down, know the economy is largely based on fluff and speculation and high asset prices, rather than real economic growth. This is a pretty grim assessment, and for sure, there has been economic growth, and for sure, things are better than they were 10 years ago, but it is not durable economic growth.
11
@USNA73
interesting - hiring too many people is "the problem."
Yes, by all means, employ less people — a good thing; replace workers with robots — a good thing.
Meanwhile, households showing "huge profit margins" based on "fluff and speculation" – not good.
Got it. People will feel much better when less are working.
2
@USNA73
"Businesses and households show huge profit margins because rates are so low."
Some of what you write is true, but households still don't have, on average, enough extra cash for next months bills, nor retirement savings. When trump shut the government down, many government workers required social services to get by until the next pay check came. Household wealth is not universal in America.
Businesses make profit on productivity and efficiency, not on borrowing or lending. The banks do, but most businesses try not to borrow for operating costs.
4
Time to invoke the 25th Amendment before Mr. Trump starts jailing those he does not like.
44
@Neil Robinson
He's going after the so called antifa, trying to label the non organization as terrorist. Next up will be the socialists, which include all the democrats. He's already started labeling them communists as well.
He's got a tame attorney general and the black booted ICE ready to make the next round up of whoever he declares are enemies of the people.
4
@Neil Robinson
You need to read 25A section 4, and then you'll see why it's impossible:
1) A majority of the Cabinet and the VP need to send a letter to Congress saying the POTUS is unfit.
It ends right there. Mattis, Tillerson, McMasters, even Kelly, and all the other adults are all gone. Even Sessions might have been convinced, but he's gone, too. And Pence is totally in Trump's thrall.
So it's done right there.
2) It takes 2/3 of BOTH Houses to sustain the VP's letter if the POTUS objects--a tougher standard than Impeachment. That means 67 Senators and 290 Representatives.
1
Trump wants to "create a more even playing field with trading partners like China and Germany." You mean he wants us to be more Communist or Socialist (in he & his party's own terms)? Because this is the only way we'll have an even playing field: adopt Socialism or Communism. Pure Capitalism doesn't mix well with leveling any fields when it comes to equality.
16
The news coverage of the Trump administration is both frustrating and maddening. This article is an excellent example of the news room's willingness to serve as an echo chamber for Trump.
This article reports Trump's criticism of the Fed, without pointing out that his comments and actions are inconsistent.
"Mr. Trump, who regularly accuses the Fed of slowing the economy by raising rates in 2018 and has urged it to cut aggressively, lashed out at Mr. Powell after the remarks."
“As usual, the Fed did NOTHING!” Mr. Trump said in a tweet. “My only question is, who is our bigger enemy, Jay Powell or Chairman Xi?,” the president wrote, a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping."
In today's column, Paul Krugman notes:
"Administration projections from a year ago envisioned 2019 interest rates substantially higher than what we’re actually seeing."
I think fair and frank reporting requires that the newsroom point out the inconsistencies between Trump's economic planning and his latest tweet, especially when the tweet is quoted.
The Times should not serve as an echo chamber for Trump.
118
@OldBoatMan Responsible News reports the news whether or not we like the news an news agency reports. Trump's idiotic response to the Fed is news.
3
@Judy Responsible reporting provides the context for the story and tweet. Trump tweets so frequently that his prior tweets and the reporting on prior actions taken by the Trump administration provide valuable context for readers. I don't have the time to read Trumps tweets let alone remember them. Good reporting reports the whole story to the extent that a complete report can be assembled within deadlines.
If you are advocating just reporting the tweet and letting the reader dig for a complete story, then you are suggesting that the Times should be Trump's echo chamber.
6
@Judy
"Responsible News" puts context around the news, so that it can be better understood, like when Trump says, "someone should beat that guy up," or imitates a reporter being body slammed by a politician, Responsible news organizations should really be comparing that behavior to the Constitution which was supposed to replace political violence on the whim of a king with due process of law, which Trump studiously ignores.
When the president said that the Fed Chairman is the "enemy," then the news should remind the public that the Fed was created to give the Fed independence from politicians so that the money supply wouldn't be manipulated for political or personal gain.
Trump is undermining the law that governs. the Fed. More context that should be reported is that undermining the law is the opposite of the job of the president.
What is irresponsible is asking Democrats about impeachment before using the words High Crimes.
1
The Fed is still letting the Phillips Curve set policy? You guys need to get some economists who finished their PhD’s AFTER 2000. They know there is no Phillips Curve.
1
@Bob
It’s a new ball game with global interdependence for supply chains and manufacturing. Inflation should rise with low employment and reasonable GDP growth. However, Manufacturing is less than 20% of our economy. We grow more cotton than demand from mills. No wonder clothes are so cheap. Agricultural is consolidating with small farmers driven out of business. Big Ag is buying more land and is incorporating automation in harvesting. And, there are 10 states comprising over 70% of GDP. What about the 40 odd states that share 30%? So, California, NY, Texas, Florida, Illinois, Washington, Massachusetts, Connecticut, are doing well while communities in states like Kansas are dying as hospitals close, schools receive lower funding, and job disappear. There are two Americas, but our Economy represent only one!
3
When rates are 1% and we are in the recession, with our budget deficit approaching $2 trillion, who will be to blame then?
Clearly Trump earned his prestigious college degrees without going to many classes, particularly his economics and business classes.
Perhaps he can replace Mr. Powell with a genius like Peter Navarro.
As we experience each day, week and month of Trump, the fact that anyone still thinks it was a good idea to elect him is the really disturbing reality of America today.
124
@Mike
Small correction. DJT has but one degree, a bachelor's from the University of Pennsylvania.
5
30 years of built up manufracture base in china and use chinese slave labor to support prosperity in america . By issue paper and buying good to support all the debts of american people. all companies make profits by shifting jobs oversea. american live on credit. Trump try to unwind it. I pray for it to be sucessful but it gonna lead to world wide economic collapse I am afraid. hopefully we don't have small regional war in asia or middle east while we are at it
Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it.
Richard Nixon pushed and shoved the federal reserve to loosen the rate in the interest of his re-election. After his landslide victory our country was eaten alive by inflation. His hapless replacement, Gerald Ford, handed out buttons that said: ‘Whip Inflation Now’, as if that would solve the problem that Nixon created by lowering the fed rate. Sound familiar? It should.
Halfway through Ford’s administration I purchased my first home with a mortgage rate exceeding 10%!
Trump must be stopped from hectoring the fed. Enemy indeed!
38
@Gary I remember when mortgage interest rates topped 14%, somewhere around that time. It's when ARMs (adjustable rate mortgages) began to take off.
7
Nixon fostered runaway inflation by “closing the gold window”, not by browbeating the Fed. Without any tether to the gold standard, the Fed was unleashed to create money out of thin air without any asset backing it.
It’s no coincidence that the purchasing power of the minimum wage peaked in 1968, just after silver was removed from coins and just before Nixon ended gold convertibility. Restoring a dollar that’s an asset rather than a debt instrument would solve a whole bucket full of economic maladies.
4
@Charles. The U.S. had a fiat currency long before the ‘gold standard’ was abandoned. The lowering of he fed rate was not connected to the gold standard, but to Nixon’s manipulation. Granted, he was not doing it openly like trump, but believe it, it was happening.
3
I assume that Trump's plan all along has been to blame the Fed for preventing him from delivering on his false promises to bring back redundant jobs and obsolete industries in the rustbelt.
This wasn't a statement of policy ... it was just an early campaign tweet . If Trump were a real president, he would be using his position to lead the EU and Asia to address the economic dislocations caused by globalization and trade. Instead, he rants like a 3d world dictator, because he has no idea that tax cuts and austerity will only produce a global depression.
45
One thing we must always keep in mind: the stock markets are not the same thing as the economy, for better or worse.
25
Not sure if trump's WH staff passes the hat during the holidays and buys him a gift. It would be hard to decide what to get, given his alleged wealth. Perhaps something practical, like a prison bed sheet embroidered with the words, "Do the right thing."
30
Why doesn't the Fed Chair simply tell Trump that the Fed is intentionally supposed to be independent of politics, it is their job to make the decisions - not the President's, and that the Fed is not an arm of the Trump re-election campaign. Period.
154
@KL
Because Trump won't listen.
7
@KL You really think Trump was never told that?
8
Powell is the classic establishment globalist.
More concerned about what the “world community” thinks of him than doing the right thing for the US economy.
4
@JQGALT
The right thing for the US economy, of course, is to cut rates to help real estate developers borrow on the cheap, right?
23
@ JQGALT
The next meeting is September 17th where a course of action will be implemented by Fed Chairman Powell after all the data is analyzed not today after the conference. It is Trump who is causing all this market crisis with his self inflicted disastrous trade policies. Place the blame where it belongs:
The self appointed chosen one, Donald J. Trump!
30
@JQGALT
Or, perhaps Mr. Powell is reluctant to hand the man driving our economy yet another drink.
BTW - the characters in Atlas Shrugged were rather weak. The female protagonist was basically how Ayn Rand idealized herself. The titans of industry were completely isolated from competition and portrayed as superhumans whose capacity to simultaneously invent and manage business were far above the unwashed masses. The foremost elusive inventor was actually very weak because he could not find a way to work within his society and instead crawled into hiding. In reality there are a lot of people around the world who are very capable and eager to rise to the top.
6
Trump constantly complaining about the Federal Reserve chairman that *he* appointed is a perfect example of how Trump, for all his bluster, is easily one of the weakest presidents in the history of this country. He has since day 1 been manipulated by the establishment of the Republican Party and done what want. It’s incredibly difficult for a single person - even someone has powerful as the President of the United States - to exert his will over such a massive bureaucracy as the federal government. But Trump is as ineffective as anyone I could possibly imagine. It is the one silver lining of hope I have that we will be able to get out of this presidency with our institutions still intact. Trump is his own worst enemy - he demonizes and alienates anyone and everyone, and he tears relationships apart, even those closest to him, which is precisely why he could *never* be an effective leader. It takes large coalitions to actually be able to achieve something - and Trump simply does not have that ability and never did.
It’s important to keep this in mind too. All of the horrible things this administration has done is more about the Republican Party as an institution than it is about Trump. When Tump is done they will try to turn the page and say he was uniquely terrible. And while that is certainly true, the awful things that have been done are just as much the Party’s fault as they his, because of how uniquely ineffectual he is as a leader.
44
Trump poses the greatest threat to the economic well being and security of the US that our country has faced since the end of WWII. By a longshot.
Republicans, wake up. We can't rid ourselves of this plague without your help. For ONCE in your lives, place country over party.
Every day Trump remains in office our country is being damaged, perhaps irreparably.
142
@Enigma Variation
The Republican Party will wake up once he is of no use.
11
@Enigma Variation Republicans place country over party (or personal self interest)? Not gonna happen.
8
@Enigma Variation, Enigma, A smash and grab robbery usually results in a lot of damage and loss, and this one perpetrated by Trump and Putin's Mitch will be the greatest ever.
5
Be on the lookout from Trump:
" Patriotic Americans know a trade war is not easy to win, and I never said it would be"....
followed by: "the Democrats are to blame for any higher prices on Chinese imports"
23
The second time this week that I laughed at one of your headlines!
9
When you consider the source, Powell should accept this comment as a compliment.
20
History will not be kind to those who are currently driving our nation off the cliff. Nor will it be kind to those who are enabling it. Time to wake up and smell the dumpster fire, Republicans.
42
At least Napoleon Bonaparte was a military genius. Trump’s only skills are in dividing us, and grifting.
35
Mr Powell is about a hundred times more informed, better educated and smarter than Mr Trump who thinks only of lining his pocket and those of his constituents.
Does he have any concernfor the American People? Not one iota. He is trashing our natural resources, the constitiution, and the reputation of the United States of America in the world today.
"SO SAD"........as he likes to say
21
Again, Trump shows is that he believes that he is the US. So that enemies of America are defined as people who disobey, are disloyal, and don’t do things for the sake of Trump’s election campaign. To Trump, most of us are simply not Americans, and many of us are actually enemies of this nation. He is a madman.
23
The good news is the Fed will be cutting interest rates. The bad news, it is not happening fast enough thank to Trump's tariffs which is causing the economy to grind to a halt. China today retaliated with more tariffs, and Trump's reactions, as expected called Mr. Powell the "enemy of the people". Mr. Powell is in good company with all the Us journalists, the Democrats, and any Republican who has stood up to Trump.
Apparently, what he now refers to himself as "The chosen one" and the "King of Israel", can not work any miracles as far as the economy si concerned.
And, wit today's Chinese salvo, a recession, by teh end of the year, as an almost certainty. Oh, that's right, any economist saying that is also an "enemy of the people".
7
I wish I could come up with something more compelling than cursing at this, but I'm at a loss ....
15
I'm proud of Jerome Powell. It takes a lot of courage to stand up to a bully who you know is going to attack you from the highest pulpit in the land. He also knows that it is going to prompt an ignorant popular attack on him personally. Most people don't understand the Fed., nor do they understand money in a macro-economic sense.
However, what else could he do. Trump sows uncertainty with trade wars and political belligerence, especially against historic allies. Against the advice of business leaders he's trashing the economy. He doesn't understand that the economy is global and if your trading partners suffer, so will you. To him, as a real estate speculator, he wins a deal, the other person loses, and he crows like a rooster about his success and vanquished foes.
If Powell continues to open the flood gates on easy money (the wealthy are already swimming in cash) what will he do in the height of recession? Powell doesn't have enough fire power to make up for the damage Trump can do. He already appeared to cave in to Trump once, so Trump came back for more.
Now we can expect Trump to start beating the drums to make the Fed. more susceptible to political pressure.
16
Do these conferences have to be held in view of these gorgeous mountains?
Oh yeah, I guess it's to remind us of the mountainous debt we have acquired.
That is Chenny country, maybe he and his lovely daughter can convince them to have another major war to help the economy.
7
Well..I would say that the Fed is the bigger enemy because Xi and Trump are such great friends.
BTW - what's the name of that other US president who kept an enemies list? All I can remember is that - he is not a crook.
16
Comparing Jay Powell to Chairman Xi - is he kidding? With Trump, American allies, and federal employees who work hard every day in service to our country, are the enemies. And in the Republican chamber, crickets. Boy, this democracy can use all the help it can get because it's not getting it from those in power.
17
Trump knows nothing and never stops talking. Powell a thoughtful, smart, balanced, articulate academic who is doing the job to hold the economy in control and speaks with authority and in a measured manner. I am impressed by Powell's ability to stay on task under these circumstances. Well-done Mr. Powell.
16
Where is the national "Wall of Honor" that would contain the names of all those Trump has railed against or labelled as an "enemy." ? Include all the honorable people like Sec. of State Tillerson, and Sec. of Defense Mattis, who could not take working with him. And an honorable mention list--the European, Canadian, Mexican, Latin American, African and Asian world leaders in office during his term of office.
6
All those who worked with and for trump et al are permanently stained and should be shunned by all decent people.
2
Welcome to the ever expanding "enemies list," Mr. Powell.
Once you are on the list you are free to do the right thing. No more trying to satisfy the president and the people.
Take a breath. Turn your face up to the sun. Exhale.
Now, doesn't that fell good?
18
It’s not just the economy that is suffering because of this president. It is the fabric of this country, which will disintegrate because of his hubris and biases.
We have to get him out of office before he causes more destruction.
11
Can't Trump just fire this guy? Doesn't he understand he was put in charge to do Trump's bidding?
1
Trump has reversed so many of President Obama's policies. Now he's real close to reversing President Obama's great economy that he inherited. Are we tired of winning bigly America?
19
The President of the United States undermining his own Federal Reserve and its chairman. Hmm, don’t have to look too far to figure out who the problem is here.
While I’m sure all sane Americans would love to see any development that helps end this disaster of a presidency, the idea of any sort of economic crisis at this juncture is frightening. We have an administration that cares zero for the well-being of ordinary Americans and is totally incompetent to boot, and most bullets the Fed could fire (lowering rates and taking on debt) have already been used. Yikes.
12
"All the best people," until they aren't, or resign in frustration, or get indicted.
8
Mr. Powell, I confess to little knowledge about economics, but I do understand why the few have enjoyed the last thirty years while the many have just gotten by. Beyond data, factual trends, and monetary policy, if you do consider other information, discuss the idea of how are ALL Americans REALLY doing in this economy? What I have a lot of experience with is human behavior and gathering and using information. In this area may I ask you to consider this: Please continue to be the Adult in the room and as much as possible IGNORE the child who is creating chaos, uncertainty, and turblence: Donald J. Trump.
12
Add the role of the Federal Reserve to the long list of governmental departments and entities that Trump does not understand. Of course, his ignorance of, and disdain for, the U.S. Constitution is probably the most egregious example of his lack of even basic competence and fitness to be POTUS.
13
The US Constitution requires that money be coined, not printed. And the Coinage Act declares currency debasement a capital crime. Mr. Powell would be dead if the Framers came back to life.
1
I wonder if the flags in Federal Reserve Bank offices have gold fringe around them or not? To know that information would tell us all we need to know.
Trump reminds me of the Twilight Zone with Billy Mumy where when people displeased him he would wish the offenders into the cornfield. The terrified people who were left would tell him that it was a good thing that he did.
6
Time to invoke the 25th amendment. Trump is becoming more erratic, and remember, he has the nuclear codes.
13
The POTUS is displaying signs of serious mental instability. This has not been a good week for him. Has anyone else noticed?
18
Markets like predictability, stability, rationality, and reason. All qualities the president lacks. We must depend on the Fed to resist the nattering nabob in the White House and to do their job professionally, guided by facts. If the Fed cracks in response to Trump’s silly jaw-boning, all is lost.
8
It always strikes me as interesting that every year during the Fed Meeting in Wyoming that the Times and other papers never identify the site of the meeting. I know exactly where they are meeting because I was married 13 years ago 15 feet to the left of the gentlemen in the picture next to the headline. Is it because of security? I assume there must be a good reason. But one thing is sure, this picture is taken in Jackson, Wyoming. Jackson is at least 35 miles away and does not have anything similar to this view.
Campaigner Trump repeatedly promised to get the "best people." Now, some of his, um, chosen ones are in jail, with more probably on the way, including Mr. T himself once he gets out of office. And when out of sheer luck or good advice he appoints someone actually competent, as with Powell, what does he do? He lashes out when Powell tries to do his job carefully and thoughtfully. He treats the worst as the best and the best as the worst.
And by the way, I want to thank the Times, as I've done before in a comment, for referring to him as "Mr." Trump, as in this article, and not "President" Trump." It's a subtlety not lost on me and fitting for this fake president.
11
Classic trump lashing out at a guy he handpicked when he doesn't act like a lap dog. Trump is clearly out of his league when it comes to economics strange for a supposed graduate of Wharton but he seems to be generally off balance. He poses a great danger to our country, the world and has trashed longtime allies. I think that Donald needs a thorough mental examination and Mitch McConnell needs to start representing his country versus conservative ideology and get on with business. Impeachment proceedings need to proceed. At this rate the Republican party will not only lead us into another depression like their 2008 one but destroy our democracy in the process.
8
Without challenging China in its trade, military and oppressive policies, the world will be in trouble. So, it is good that Trump is challenging China. Other countries and everybody in this country should help him to achieve that goal. It may not be pain free to everybody. The Fed can do a lot to alleviate that pain. It would be nice if NY Times and liberal elites join him in that fight.
1
The vast, vast majority of jobs leaving China will not be coming to the USA. They will be shifted to other developing countries. The only Americans this will help are a few of Trump’s very wealthy donors. I hate that farmers and others who directly rely on them for business are being played for such fools by Trump and his cronies.
1
@Alex E
Keep voting republican Alex. You will long be remembered as one of the tyrants who helped destroy America.
3
So many things wrong with your comment but let me point out a few. China or any other country like ours does what is best for itself. Usually means working with other countries. USA corporations were not forced into their relationships with China. They willfully chose to do so for access to Chinese market. It was working as both countries were growing economies. All of the problems could have been addressed by the TPP, which tRump did not want to join. Secondly, these negotiation tactics are those of a simpleton.
He called his own Fed chair an "enemy"? And misspelled the man's name? Can we please have some kind of humane intervention with our fearful leader? He has to be in an involuntary care setting with an aggressive medication schedule at once.
12
There should be a entropy index for Trump's rants and method of governing. His method and style are suitable for a banana republic.
5
Presidential actions are far more powerful in affecting the national economy than those of the Fed. Trump is just trying to shift blame to the Fed now for when he tanks the economy with his poorly considered tariffs and other unsophisticated actions that he is goaded into by some very questionable advice he is getting from those around him.
But Trump says he knows more about the Economy than the Economists. Let's see how that works out for all those ignorant Trump supporters who think the great businessman knows what he is doing. When some brave soul out there finally leaks copies of Trump's tax returns for public scrutiny we will see just how successful this businessman really has been. We already see him lying and reneging on just about every deal he has publicly declared. Does anyone think he was any more stable in his financial dealings before he was appointed to the presidency by the Electoral College?
5
Powell is the only person left in Trump’s orbit who stands up to him. Thank you, Chairman Powell.
And Trump grows more unhinged each day. It will get worse.
753
@Joanne not for much longer. He will get fired up with enthusiasm or fired with enthusiasm. Powell doesn't need the money but he needs the prestige and that's his problem and it's causing troubles for Americans.
3
@Joanne. IF the Fed was not independent, Trump would demand absolute loyalty and fealty to all his crazy economics ideas. The Fed would do it, and our economic and stature would sink dramatically.
11
@randy
They've already cut when trump started in on Powell and came to regret it. If there's a recession
the Fed will have no room to maneuver except lower the rates to -1%
20
This is just more evidence that Trump's only motivation is himself, his money, and his political standing among his cult (referred to in mainstream media as his "base"). He has never worked a day in his life for the benefit of anyone else and he never will. At the expense of every American citizen, promoting knowledge about the true state of our nation and the world is forbidden during The Trump Presidency, when it contradicts Trump. He has shown his selfish, messiah complex almost every single day of his nightmare Presidency with his stance toward climate change, endangered species, clean air and water, public education, national healthcare, and immigration. It is disgusting and disheartening that 40% of US citizens are too Fox-News educated (AKA completely ignorant of reality) to see this simple, obvious truth. We need to start discussing the 25th Amendment again.
8
Powell is doing a good job under very difficult circumstances. As for Trump: An enemy of my enemy is my friend. The more enemies Trump begets by his desperate, nay maniacal, behavior, the more friends on my side. Not the right side rather the left side, the sane side.
5
At the next helicopter summit some one should ask the stable genius if he thinks his fiduciary responsibility to the nation is to control the markets, to get re elected, or is there another reason.
The follow up should be: are you going to ease tariffs on China in the election cycle to get a positive market move, to help your chances for re election.
2
Enemy of the people? Straight from Stalin’s playbook. When does Trump demand prime time tribunals for the conspirators?
Winning is so tiresome.
4
Perhaps DJT should return to Wharton and finally read those economics books he skipped....
11
@Ollie
Don't think DJT could read, and if he could, he wouldn't understand anything complex. Remember Wharton professors saying he was among their dumbest students and we see evidence ion that every single day with every single tweet or utterance.
25th Amendment - it's way past the time.
3
Yes, we are not going crazy. Trump actions and words ARE as crazy as they look and feel.
11
Trump tweets: "My only question is, who is our bigger enemy, Jay Powell or Chairman Xi?" What a vile, despicable, out of control US President! In return, my only question is: Will the Democrats wake up and nominate a moderate, winning candidate who is able to defeat America's biggest enemy of democracy and decency, Donald Trump?
12
@MJW, Good question. MY question is "Will Republicans wake up CLEAN up this mess of a presidency they've created?"
5
@MJW. All the Democratic candidates are “moderate” unless you think protecting Social Security, Medicare, standing up to tyrants, negotiating respectfully with our allies, and insuring universal healthcare are radical ideas.
7
@RR I absolutely agree with you. The Republicans are hiding behind Trump confirming they are no longer the party of "family values"...whatever that meant.
2
Trump is always, always fighting with someone or some thing, whether real or imaginary....This guy can't go one day with out a fight with something - its utterly revolting...
This Thanksgiving when its time for the Pardoning of the turkey event, Trump will pick a fight with the 2 turkeys who were pardoned...I wouldn't be surprised if he chased them around with an ax.
5
Mr. Trump daily resembles more the self-appointed strongmen of Venezuela and Syria, let alone the monarchist in Saudi Arabia and Trump's boyfriend the Presidente of Russia.
Trump desires indefinite cushion in the White House. Let's guarantee this either with a swift and sure Impeachment or an equally sure Election of the Demo0cratic candidate in November 2020.
5
I think the biggest enemy is the emperor with no clothes....
14
This is just a warmup. The craziness will escalate as election time gets closer. The consequences are now totally the responsibility of senate republicans.
15
@Robert O.
“the responsibility of senate republicans” ?
You mean the null set, right?
2
The King of Debt, and the King of intellectual, moral and economic bankruptcy, is getting nervous as his economy starts bankruptcy proceedings.
Donald Trump, the spoiled little rich boy who never grew up and turns everything he touches into garbage, is having another little temper tantrum.
Sad.
25
The more Trump tweets the more he reveals his ignorance. It's time the Republican Party recognizes the jeopardy they have put this country in. This man must be declared unfit for office.
12
How does "forward guidance" work for monetary policy when the Fed regional bank presidents and members of the Board of Governors are saying a dozen different things? And does it help the public when one or more presidents of the regional Fed banks send signals to Trump that, if they had Powell's job, they would be so much more compliant with the President's wishes? One statement by one person (the Chairman) would be much more helpful to the public.
1
The annual conference at Jackson Hole..... how about holding these conferences in Detroit or the Bronx or South Chicago ? Not someplace where these 1%ers are wined and dined amid their wealthy cronies? Just a thought.
11
Trump will single handedly destroy our economy.
That's his way of doing business.
7
@Mark That's also why his supporters voted for him.
1
“My only question is, who is our bigger enemy, Jay Powell or Chairman Xi?”
Or Donald Trump?
9
Any honest and decent professional is seemingly an Enemy of Trump.
8
Another economic hissy-fit by the leader of our once great country.
5
So little time,so many enemies...
9
When are we going to get rid of this "Nasty" thing.
6
Typical Trump. Never take responsibility for his horrible policies. Label someone else the enemy.
7
When Trump gets the Danes to see sense, he can set Greenland up as a monarchy called the Duchy of Aryan where he can be King and set whatever rates he feels like. And when that files for bankruptcy, well, he'll do the greatest free trade deal ever with England where he can sell them herring and ice water. And when that fails, well, he'll probably sell the lot to Russia, or even China as part of a win-win free trade deal. China might be interested in the rare earth deposits, Russia might be interested in using it as a weapons testing range...and the rest of us can get back to normality. Go on Denmark, save the world, sell him Greenland and end the nightmare!
5
I wonder what it's like to be a highly educated, presumably well respected financial professional at the Fed, now subject to the whims of the incompetent boob at the helm hate-tweeting at you. Strange times. We have GOT to have new leadership as of 2020 or we are sunk.
20
@Christine O If Trump’s remains in office we may not make it to 2020.
1
The immaturity of our President is breathtaking---labeling individuals who disagree with him as an enemy---he truly is a fascists at heart.
11
Who's the bigger enemy, the head of our Fed or the dictator of China?
Good god.
Come on, Congress. Step up!
16
The 'king is in his counting house, counting out 'his money' but he isn't king of America. is he? The queen is in the parlor scared to death of the man she married before his true motives came out. Poor woman but it can be corrected after the King is behind bars and out of his kingly mind alone without his (our) money.
3
Trump in 2016: "By keeping interest rates low, the Fed has created a "false stock market," Trump argued.
https://t.co/lOKWuV4tem?amp=1
3
An enemy of what? Can we please impeach this crazy man now?
6
Every republican president has a recession in his first term. Why would the most incompetent president in history escape this reality? He demands that the fed go beyond their mandate to counter his silly trade war and bizarre economic moves. This is all the fault of the republicans in congress who have made it clear that they will not put a leash on this mad dog.
8
Trump is a spoiled brat of a child - "fix it, mommy, fix it!!!" - always looking to others to make things work and clean up his mess, lay blame elsewhere, and praise himself for anything he can present as 'good' happening. His followers, of course, have no idea what the FED can or can not do - by the way, Powell is right about the limits of monetary policy (his followers: mon-what plaza?) - and just 'ditto-head' everything Trumps says. They also have no memory that Trump kept whining that interest rates were too low until just a short time ago and used that pretext to not have Ms. Yellen serve a second term as Fed chairman (get rid of that Obama appointee!), unheard of in the Fed's history, only to have his appointee, Powell, pretty much keep the same course but now 'tantrumming' that rates are too high.
More drama distraction.
2
trump is really the ENEMY and not powell. this Entity (trump) is trying to do everything to cover up his own blunders!!!!!
3
Nixon had an "enemies list." Trump has an "enemies twitter feed."
"Trade wars are easy to win ..."
9
25 amendment this is really falling apart
4
Trump Tariffs = Trump's Ression
4
In the future, phrases such as 'bull in a china shop' and 'a loose cannon' will be replaced by 'Trump in a presidency'.
Sigh.
11
Pinocchio is going to get someone hurt or killed
With his reckless words. How many more people
Need to die or get hurt because Pinocchio can’t regulate his emotions or mouth ? 😡
4
Don't worry Mr. President; if the Fed fails you there will always be Deutsche Bank.
Um what?..Oh right...nevermind.
6
This president is out of control. He is a bigoted, hot-headed, ignorant narcissist who shows absolutely no understanding of the U.S. Constitution or the proper role of departments and groups such as the justice department, the federal reserve bank, or international alliances such as NATO. He is getting more irrational and the toadies that surround him seem incapable or uninterested in trying to rein him in. How can the GOP continue to remain silent? Are they all that afraid of this man's wrath?
14
Trump ended his hateful tweets with "My only question is, who is the bigger enemy Jay Powel(l) or Chairman Xi?"
Actually, the bigger biggest bigly enemy is Trump, Kudlow, et al.
13
It's a pleasure to sit and watch Trump crash and burn.
13
I feel in my gut that this is the week Trump is finally on his way down. It's just too strange, too erratic, too nonsensical and utterly policy ignorant.
19
@robcrawford
Not as long 90% + Repubs tick with him.
Stupider than Dan Quayle, more cunning and dangerous than Nixon = Messiah of the right, DJT..
3
And now he's off to France where, no doubt, he'll do something else incredibly stupid and at odds with his advisors.
It's not if, it's when. Every single day.
18
@Lou Good - he's hoping to buy Notre Dame Cathedral and turn it into the "Trump-On-Seine International" hotel and casino resort. He has big plans and they are really good plans. We should be proud of his magnificence.
4
Trump sounds more and more like some demented person with a persecution complex verging on full-blown paranoia who claims he is being plotted against by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who dares not to bow down to "the chosen one" and is therefore an "enemy." In reality (not a place Trump is very familiar with), he appears to suffer from Narcissistic Personality Disorder or NPD which is a real mental illness listed by the American Psychiatric Association. Grandiosity is its major symptom, but feelings of persecution when not given the respect and admiration his NPD demands are also major symptoms on display today as the have been almost everyday of his presidency (Remember that "nasty" woman who refused to sell him Greenland and happens to be Denmark's Prime Minister). In the face of a potential slumping economy, his illness has made him even more erratic and unstable and desperate for a "win." Given the pace of his descent into a more dangerous and severe form of NPD that has been clearly on display, it is unwise to wait over a year for the election. The Constitution has the remedies, but so far the political elite lacks the will to use them even as the risk of a full-blown Trump meltdown seems imminent along with the ultimate grandiose catastrophe that it will almost certainly bring.
8
Before the Chosen One orders the FBI to arrest Chairman Powell for treason, can we now invoke the 25th Amendment?
9
Then, Powell my friend, kimosabe!
2
A subtle point but that highlights now little the President knows.
Rate announcements usually come on a Wednesday, that also happens to be usually the second day of a Fed meeting.
Today is Friday and Powell was speaking at a conference in Wyoming, not a Fed meeting.
The President tweeted this morning expecting action from the Fed, and then reacted strongly on twitter when he didn't get his wish.
We are going to have a full on twitter tantrum today with serious consequences, simply because he is clueless to the most basic aspects of how all these things even work.
8
Tariffs don't work. Only a moron with no sense of history or economics would resort to them. Wait, I hear the strains of "Hail to the Chief." The "chosen one" hears his name being called.
5
What will it take for the Democrats to act to begin Impeachment hearings?
11
Congress gave the power to the President to set tariff rates in 1934. It can, and should, take it away.
14
@Will
Probably just for trump.
1
It's pointing out the obvious that if the economy tanks (which is becoming more and more likely) then it hurts trump's re-election chances. Then he'll have to face the real issues waiting for him, which is why the Fed chairman is his "enemy". Stand firm Powell for the good of the country.
8
Good employees are supposed to be honest. People in charge need the truth to make effective decisions. Trump's management style is the opposite. He expects everyone to give him cover. This entire scenario played out with Jeff Sessions, as Attorney General.
Republican Senators better ground themselves in reality soon. Anyone with a shred of decency can see that Trump is more interested in his own image and electability that the welfare of the country.
11
It seems that being designated "enemy" status in this administration means that that person is actually doing a decent job.
35
@Herr Fischer Badge of Honor in my book.
2
Whatever it is you think of Trump and Powell, this does stand out as painful truth.
"the Fed should use monetary policy to create a more even playing field with trading partners like China and Germany, which he believes are weakening their currencies and lowering rates to gain an economic advantage."
If any one here thinks that China is a fair trading partner, and that further erosion of competitive advantages of our economy via strengthening of their communist economy, then that person is seeing no further than his or her nose.
@ss your valid concerns pale when considered in the context of a maniac running loose in the White House.
7
@ss trump mistakes have nothing to do with China per se.
I honestly believe the President of the United States is mentally and emotionally fracturing before the eyes of the world. Seriously. This has become frightening. What's most frightening is that the means to address such a situation, built into our founding documents, seem to be completely ineffectual to address what is increasingly worrisome problem not only for Americans but for the world. Is there ANYONE willing to step forward and speak truth about this man?
37
@Tim: I have, over and over. I just get the distinct feeling that the Republicans don’t care.
16
@Bluebeliever Of course not - they're on the verge of getting what they've wanted for years: the total collapse of the American society, where robber-barons can once again rise up and take absolute control.
7
@Bluebeliever GOP got their tax break and white supremacy for a at least 2 more years. I hope that is all they get.
6
Trump would set national monetary policy by ego reaction with daily tweets. Remember he know how to bankrupt things,
20
Gee, Trump told us the economy was doing the best it has in decades?
Economics 101 - If an economy is doing well, one doesn't cut interest rates, but, in order to temper inflation you raise them. (No wonder The "Tweetster" has done everything in his power to hide his high school and college marks).
9
Of course, if Powell accedes to Trump's demand and the economy continues to decline, Trump will say that the decline is Powell's fault for cutting interest rates.
An easy axiom to follow " I take all credit and someone else get the blame for any decline". Works for Trump and his supporters, after all it is a corollary to Trump's " Fifth Ave." rule.
12
@cec He's been setting Powell up to be the Fall Guy for months. It's the one thing he's good at.
2
I've been throwing up pretty much non stop for the last 18 months. surprisingly, it's easier than I would have thought.
oops, gotta go...!
28
Trillion dollar deficits, disparity inducing tax cuts, stagnant wages, near zero fed rates, over valued currency all point to an overstimulated yet slow growing economy. How long can this last? Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.
21
Memo to the Fed: You can drive yield up in ten days and fix the inverted curve by selling off some of those 3.6 Trillion in bonds you are sitting on. If the market is screaming for bonds, and we need to mop up that excess liquidity you created with QE, why aren't you selling bonds???
1
@BC
Selling bonds is contractionary. When the supply increases the price of bonds falls and the interest rates RISE.
You see, the Fed doesn't actually set the interest rate. It sets a target and implements policy, open market operations or reserve requirements to bring the existing interest rate to that target.
This is stuff that Donald Trump simply doesn't understand. There's a lot of stuff he just doesn't get. He doesn't have any real economists around anymore, and it's doubtful he'd listen to them if he did.
2
I have seen comments from people hurt by the tariffs.
I would like to see a comment from a business owner who has been helped by the tariffs.
11
Leveling the trade playing field is a worthy endeavor. But accomplishing it is a multi-level chess board that requires intelligence, tact, strategy and competence. Just thought I'd give everyone a good laugh to start the weekend.
23
The economy, which is at full employment now, is being stimulated by massive deficit spending due to tax cuts. We don't need more stimulus from QE or interest rate cuts. Our children will have to pay off the huge debts we amass.
13
Two questions:
1) How many basis points remain before Fed rates go below zero?
2) Whose math and statistics are being used to generate an inflation rate of below two percent? Are they counting everything... except all goods and services?
I want the answer to (2) before I send in my next mortgage payment. Chances are that the bank would owe ME money!
6
@The View From Downriver
See: Be Careful What You Wish For: Inflation Is Much Higher Than Advertised
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4111845-careful-wish-inflation-much-higher-advertised
An eye-opening article on how the government's official CPI gets it wrong. You can also stroll down the aisle of your local supermarket, add up your phone/internet/media bills and your personal insurance policies, ... (you name it).
3
The other alarming bits of the President's tweets that no one has commented on are "Our Great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China" and "I am ordering all carriers, including Fed Ex, Amazon, UPS and the Post Office, to SEARCH FOR & REFUSE,
all deliveries of Fentanyl from China (or anywhere else!)". Are we now a state-run economy? Ironic!
28
@GG
No, it's the beginnings of state sponsored fascism.
5
@GG You may say "ironic". Perhaps pathetic is more appropriate.
3
If given a choice between another 4 years of Trump and a 20% hit to my retirement portfolio over the next 6 years, I will gladly take the latter. Yes, I am willing to take a huge personal financial loss in the short run.
65
@Indisk. At 77 I am not sure I will be around in 6 years but would also be willing to take a 20% hit. This wrecking ball administration should not have the opportunity to further damage the world my grandchildren will inherit.
4
@Indisk
The hit could be a lot bigger.
3
@cheryl
As we speak, the S&P 500 tumbled again 2.5%. So be it.
2
Everything Trump does at this point stems from the Fox news poll that showed him trailing everyone but Attila The Hun in 2020.
He has to have a good economy going into the election.
A bad economy is the one thing he fears, it has the best chance of sinking his re-election.
37
@J. Swift Trump is not trailing Attila because Attila is not yet on the ballot yet.
1
I'm not a financial guy but shouldn't the Fed's job be more about financial stability than expansion? I've been told that the stock market has been inflated since the Obama years and that on average we have a recession every ten years or so since WWII, so why continue to interfere with the market's natural cycle when any juice you give it now will only add to the precipitous and certain decline to come? Shouldn't the Fed chair share the same oath as doctors- "First, do no harm"?
48
@Rick Gage All Fed chairs for the most part have attempted to first do no harm. Trump would like his pick to be loyal to Trump not to the American economy which in Trump's mind should be secondary.
4
@Rick Gage Keeping interest rates low obviously hurts people on fixed incomes who need a reliable, liquid asset with a rate of return that at least keeps up with inflation and hopefully more. The Fed has choices. And whatever choices it makes are going to create winners and losers. The question is not whether their decisions cause harm. It is who will be harmed. For a long, long time the Fed's decisions have been highly favorable to capital.
3
Friends don't let friends believe tweets from Donald Trump - the man who has turned the Presidency into a "reality show" and an entire political party into its supporting cast.
140
@Jeff C
I believe the term is not "reality show" but, "horror show".
9
@Jeff C From where I see it the Trump presidency is far from being a "reality show". This administration has been a horror show with all the unbelievable monsters that can be found in the worst horror shows.
7
The President's tweet is all misdirection, similar to labeling himself King, trying to buy Greenland, tariff wars with China, southern border issues, etc. Its more of the same and the press jumps all over each new absurd statement at the expense of forgetting the role of Russia and his potential crimes before and after the election. This is exactly what he wants and how he acts - he is trying to play people, and succeeding unfortunately. The press needs to stay the course instead of jump around from one thing to the next every time he or his staff utter nonsense. The Press should have continuous front page investigative summaries of the Russian issues. It's what the citizens of this country need, even if they don't want it. That is part of the job of the press. Facts on the real issues. What we also need is the House Judiciary Committee to openly push its investigation at a reasonable pace to determine if impeachment is warranted. Pound the important issues, not all the other nonsense. Honest, in-depth investigation after investigation. He will only go more rogue as any wrong doing is exposed, or is close to being exposed. Do not get distracted. Focus on the longterm well-being of this country.
166
@lrubin
One has to continually remind themselves that he is strictly appealing to his base and since his approval rating is running around the 45% mark, that base is significant. He doesn't care about the majority of the country that oppose him and besides he reacts to situations, you give him too much credit in his seemingly skill at misdirection. This happens because of his short attention span, NOT because of some inherent ability to actually create some sort of strategy.
6
@lrubin
You wrote this comment using the internet. Have you noticed how the internet works?
1
@lrubin, I agree with this almost word for word, however reporting on the the minute by minute absurdities broadcast form the White House, could have a purpose if the so called "base" would indeed pay attention. But as we have found out over the last few years of life dominated by Trumpus Caligulus, many people hear what they wish to hear.
Stick to the facts, since few facts come from the present White House, they should be treated as such...the only fake news is what come from the foul mouth of our present tyrant.
7
The GOP is finished under Trump. Period. If are to have a viable two party system Republican smust pick up the reins and present fresh, intelligent leadership. I am from a long line of Republicans (fiscally conservative, but socially liberal) and only two support the President. Please, GOP leadership, do your job, and find a replacement for Trump. From foreign affairs to the economy, and social issues, this man is a Disaster. Period. End of Story. Time to move on. PLEASE!
313
@Washington Reader: the best we can wish for is Republican Party that goes down in flames. Then Phoenix like perhaps a sane viable party will arise and restore a functioning two party system capable of the debate and compromise necessary for a democracy.
18
@Washington Reader
Republicans, intelligent and leadership must never be together in the same sentence, unless preceded by the word "not", like Republicans "not" intelligent, or Republicans do "not" display leadership.
8
We might as well get rid of the 25th amendment.
It apparently serves no purpose.
The only other option would be to get rid of Republicans.
562
@Grove I've been advocating for that last option for, oh, almost thirty years now. The modern "GOP" is nothing more than an organized treason movement.
30
@Grove
Why not both?
5
@Grove I choose option number two.
“As usual, the Fed did NOTHING!” Mr. Trump said in a tweet. “My only question is, who is our bigger enemy, Jay Powel or Chairman Xi?,”
Like a toddler in a height-chair throwing spaghetti, surrounded by adults trying not to get it on their suits
211
@Paul
My thoughts precisely
From a fellow Arizonan
11
Here's a thought. Maybe people will finally decide that they do not need to own so much stuff. The money that they save can go toward life's true necessities-food and shelter. Tariffs will no longer matter, nor will corporate America, and we will have a wonderful round of deflation-when prices actually drop. OOPS, there go the corporations again.
14
@Al Deflation is bad for everyone, not just corporations
5
Mr. Powell. Do not knuckle under to this guy. He's poison.
288
Trump is enthroned. He, Putin and Kim Jong-un, with whom Trump "fell in love" can now divvy up the spoils. (link to quote below)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/409245-trumps-comments-on-falling-in-love-with-kim-jong-un-are-shocking-and-appalling
11
This is such classic Trump: Knuckle dragging mercantilism coupled with stubborn doubling down on idiotic, destructive policies because he thinks he's smarter than everyone else.
59
The idea that slow inflation growth is even a good policy is misguided. All inflation is, is the increases of prices of goods and services. There are no corresponding pressures on wage inflation, therefore even modest inflation targets harm the poor and working class especially hard. All else being equal, is it even rational to expect a mature economy like the United States to always expand?.... The answer is of course not.
17
Absolutely no contest for who is our nation's "bigger enemy"--indeed who is our tremendously biggest enemy. President Donald J. Trump. His characteristically shoot from the lip, erratic, everyone who doesn't submit to my dictates is a bad enemy style of "leadership" has egregiously damaged America's image and stability both internationally and domestically. It takes a special kind of inept presidential leadership to screw up even in areas in which--for once--he's on the right side of an issue. Yes, China has been engaging in unfair trading practices with the U.S. for a long time. And yet Trump's trying to publicly bully a proud nationalistic country into submitting to his demands, has only made it greatly more difficult for a reasonable bargain to be achieved.
74
After reading the Times each day, and also reading the comments on this and other sites, I am constantly amazed that at least 2 out of every 5 Americans approve of Trump's performance. He is one for the ages.
35
@ohio
The Chinese loved and supported Mao even though his policies in the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution were responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of people.
Trump supporters belong to a cult of personality. It isn't rational, its emotional. He speaks to them and they don't hear the lies.
Our only hope is to elect someone who is very centrist who won't inflame their passions further. One third, or even one quarter of the population is too large a minority to ignore and override. We must go back to the old-fashioned virtues of compromise and consensus. (Yes. I know the GOP blocked every effort in that direction under Obama.)
Revolutions eat their children. We see that in the Tea Party Revolution and Trump. If we have a Leftward Revolution, it would be the same thing.
3
@Sharon. I wish I could give a thousand recommends to this sentence: "Trump supporters belong to a cult of personality. It isn't rational, its emotional. He speaks to them and they don't hear the lies." Other examples we know too well, such as supporting beyond hopeless sports teams, such as (IMO but not necessarily that of many others) belief in some omnipotent God despite the evils he allows to occur, such as respect and love for your favorite pop or opera star or film-maker despite his known predilection for less-than-consensual sex. It's purely emotional which is why I will always root for my Buffalo Sabres against those Pittsburgh Penguins despite my rational side acknowledging that they are a better hockey team. But in sports, there's always next year. With this guy, I am truly concerned that next year may not arrive and if it does, it may not be soon enough.
2
Mr. Trump said in a tweet. “My only question is, who is our bigger enemy, Jay Powel or Chairman Xi?,” the president wrote, a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The question is whether Trump's blindest followers will believe, in the face of all the contradictory facts, that only Trump is right, and that everyone else is wrong.
Let's not let Mr. Bankruptcy wreck the economy of our nation and perhaps even the world. Thank goodness that even his own appointees refuse to follow his inane tweet-babblings.
We need to find a real Republican to run against him, before the national debt hits the stratosphere.
48
@sing75
no more Republicans
please.
they cost this country too much in lost money, opportunity, prestige and respect
Time to disband that entire group of trump loving power grabbing people hating angry white men
6
@sing75
The national debt has already his the stratosphere and another republican is not the answer. Do you think you could find one of these cowards hiding under the bed right now who is willing to chance a negative tweet from Trump? After suffering under Trump, I want someone who is courageous, strong and honest as our next president and I don't see a republican with any of these traits right now.
4
So the Fed and the Exec branch under Trump may not be linked at the hip. The stable genius thinks he can control all the branches of government because he knows so much. In fact, his tweets on Twitter are forcing a conflict between the corporatists/oligarchs and American middle class workers who were left behind because multinational corporations sought more profits by throwing the workers under the bus.
Now Trump has enlisted the workers as his base, and won the election by promising he would bring their jobs back to America. But Made in America hasn't returned. More importantly, Trump is unwittingly throwing the corporatists and oligarchs under the bus this time by saying it was the global economy that failed them. Trump as a republican should favor tree trade, instead of now advocating for his base (middle class workers).
Because of his ignorance, he has created a conundrum. Trump is a human wrecking ball. He is destroying both corporatists and workers.
In the end, the unregulated global economy is spreading income inequality throughout the world. Nobody wins.
21
The quotes in the article from Mr. Powell sound like he has thought long and hard about what the Fed can do to keep the economy on an even keel, and what is outside its control. The quotes from Mr. Trump, not so much.
60
No doubt Trump is energetic! The type of incoherent random energy, that seldom creates long-term value for anyone yet is exalted by those who themselves have achieved nothing.
53
It is not a "trade war," but more like a "trade attack" by the president of the US against other nations.
I think we must realize that we now have a communist system in which the supreme leader gives orders: impose tariffs that boomerang and hit the farm economy, pass out welfare payments to these farmers, threaten heads of state, move funds around (military housing to wall), decide who will survive Republican primaries and who will not. These are the actions of a dictator.
Constitutionally speaking, only Congress can stop these abuses.
310
@John. Agreed. Trump's follow-up tweets reinforce that "supreme leader giving orders" mentality. Just in the past hour, Trump tweets: "Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China..."
Hereby ordered? Is he king? What happened to free enterprise, Republicans?
34
@John Yes, Congress could stop these abuses, but the Republican controlled Senate will not permit it to act. It is up to the American people to stop them by turning out in droves to vote Trump and his Republican enablers out of office.
7
Americans of all political stripes are growing very tired of the Trump Show
Constant chaos and instability
2020 will become a matchup between Trump Chaos and Normalcy
The question Democratic primary voters need to ask if which candidate best represents Normalcy
89
@John
I think that all of the Democratic candidates are "normal", the question is who is the most competent and has the best plans for our future.
18
@John
Normalcy? Dude, it's "normalcy" that led us to Trump.
By "normalcy," do you mean a return to bipartisan commitment to income inequality, wage stagnation for all but those at the very top, increased precariousness for most workers, and little serious action to address the climate crisis? Do you mean Dems continuing to pretend Republicans are operating in anything like good faith with the best interests of the country at heart, while Republicans capitalize on this strategic imbalance to continue our descent into a third-world economy? What does "normalcy" mean to you?
11
@Shirley0401, I read John's use of normalcy to contrast with chaos/insanity...not any particular policy
7
“‘Trade policy uncertainty seems to be playing a role in the global slowdown and in weak manufacturing and capital spending in the United States,’ Mr. Powell said.”
And guess who has created “trade policy uncertainty”? The very stable-genius & great deal-maker Trump.
40
The Dow has dropped over 300 points this morning. Was that because of this short sighted event?
14
@Sharon Conway
or the trump crime family rigging the markets and selling short?
4
Interest rates are darn low already. So further cuts won’t make borrowing money much cheaper....unless you’re borrowing a huge sum....like a trillion dollars.
OH! Now I get it: because of the tax cuts, we *are* borrowing a trillion dollars!
42
Trump’s opinion on the Federal Reserve’s economic policies should be given as much consideration as a four-year old’s opinion on - the Federal Reserve’s economic policies. The difference is that the four-year-old would know better than to offer such an opinion.
35
Powell: “No recent precedents to guide any policy response to the current situation."
This statement could apply Trump's presidency as a whole!!
47
So he's ready to keep enabling reckless policies by removing the Fed's capacity to respond to a future recession before it happens.
11
Trump’s trade war is a historic blunder. Tariffs were intended to increase US production. Since the Trump tariffs on aluminum and steel were instituted, domestic and international prices have declined for both products. If the intent of the tariffs were to spur domestic production of these metals, lower metal prices on the open market cause production to tumble as profitability suffers in declining markets. Trump will be the rotten apple at the G7 meeting (previously G8, Trump’s boss, Putin was expelled), demanding a special session on global trade. Trump will make us into an international laughing stock with his unhinged rhetoric and failed policies.
28
@Stuart
I would change ‘will make’ in the last sentence to ‘has made’.
5
@Stuart
Yep. Didn’t I just hear that US Steel was shuttering a plant and cutting several hundred jobs ...
3
Powell? Let's get to the source of US economy policy.
What does Putin say? Has DOW manipulation by Trump tweet produced the skim from investors that he dictated?
6
Mr. Powell needs to hang tough and ignore the ravings of that business failure in the White House. Someone in this government has to run the economy in an adult-like manner and not crash about like a two-year old in a tantrum.
Just imagine any previous president , regardless of party, calling the Fed chair an "enemy"! How far down we have come under this fool Trump.
85
@Joe
The world is puzzled by our choice of trump and question our sanity. I think they are right.
29
As usual, Trump is lashing out because Powell discussed the negative effects of his trade wars. Peter Navarro was on tv this morning mouthing the WH talking points and pointing his finger at the Fed.
During the interview Navarro angrily said: "Well, I AM an economist!" Truth be told, most real economists view him as clueless.
69
@Mark McIntyre
navarro believes he is an economist
trouble is, no one else in the economics profession believes he is
nor do the rest of us.
he's as loony as trump. and the chickens are coming home to roost. watch out this is just the opening round of the craziness.
4
@Mark McIntyre: Mr. Navaro sounds like the tagline on
"Doctor Science."
1
Trump appoints qualified leaders, like Powell, to run key departments in the government. He then quickly undermines them by his selfish decisions to show the US that it is "he, and only he' in charge.
Any doubts raised by his own advisers, is quickly dismissed or worse, crushed.
For how long will the GOP senate remain silent, by this malignant narcissist Trump, who has cowed them not to utter a word of criticism at his half-baked ideas.(for example, where is this great Mitt Romney, who once characterized Trump as unfit for the White House?)
794
@Kenell Touryan....you ask how long will the GOP stay silent. How long is eternity....that's how long. It will never happen and the sooner the rest of America clues in to this the better. You have a one party democracy. The GOP do not believe in free and fair elections. Surely that is abundantly clear by now.
113
@Kenell Touryan Mitt Romney is the very definition of an empty suit. At this point, he consists solely of good hair and a smile, nothing much else there.
95
@Kenell Touryan Mitt Romney? The Mitt is the typically selfish, arrogant, self entitled son of privilege who can only conceive of fighting to preserve the establishment that serves but his class. Mitt has no business occupying a post crrated for a public servant that by definition would serve the people.
48
Presidents get praised when the economy does well and blamed when it does poorly but most of the time they don't really have much of an effect either way.
Trump is the exception. His tariffs actually harm consumers in the form of higher costs and add huge uncertainty in the market. Powell is taking a reasoned and cautious approach to keep the economy rolling which is what we want in a Fed chair. He may be an enemy to Trump but he is a friend to the rest of us.
38
@Dave
A very discerning and cogent observation: Trump is PROACTIVELY messing up a strong economy, and, aided and abetted by Republican cohorts, doing the same to the Constitution.
1
Trump had a dove at the head of the Fed in Yellen, but ditched her. Now he is mad the Fed chair HE APPOINTED is more hawkish?
14
Absurd, so Powell is going to drop interest rates. He can become the first Fed Chairman to be a total puppet of Trump. It is insane what he going to do. The same action put the EU where they are today.......negative interest rates. So much for the economic and financial advice, and professionalism, of the Feds, to say nothing of being a puppet of the White House. He actually thinks dropping the interest rate is going to spur demand, going to increase mfg, going to increase GDP, going to bring in $millions more of traffic fees? I think maybe those in D.C. need to take a refresher course in economics, like bump up their credentials by adding Econ 102 to their resumes.
6
Trump”s tweet comparing Jay Powell to Chairman Xi is an outrageous insult and cannot be tolerated-Trump is becoming so removed from reality that he is a threat !No one, EVER has so degraded the office of the Fed chairman .They are strong and wise men and women and have guided the country through fraught economic times.This blunt and boorish insult is too much! It is time for a 25th Amendment remedy!
42
Interest rates were much higher in the 1990s. Today, interest rates remain so low that there’s little room for cuts. Unless, of course, we imitate Germany and shift to negative interest rates.
5
Thank the Lord we've finally elected a president who's an expert on everything!! (just joking 63 million Americans)
11
Mr. Powell seems far too willing to cut the interest rate for Trump who is flaying about try to keep his Tariff War with China from undermining his re-election campaign. One has to assume that Trump knows what he is doing, a far from certain assumption.
5
If Powell is an enemy, he should be fired on the spot. If he isn’t, it’s libel. Since Trump cannot be indicted, how is this not grounds for invoking the 25th amendment?
32
@Daniel B Indeed. At this point, there are enough grounds to build several golf courses. A couple of baseball fields. and several sanctuaries for endangered species.
10
@Daniel B
Unfortunately, Cabinet heads approved by the Senate are required to invoke the 25th Amendment. We only have Acting Heads. I think the approval by the VP (talking to you Pence) is also required.
2
The Federal Reserve reserved room for action without being specific. It reflects the internal split, in July's decision 2 of 9 of Board Members voted against lowering interest rates further.
For valid reasons. The current monetary policies of the Central Banks are not sustainable. It is ruining pension funds and Social Security the world over.
The current yield of the 10 yr T-Bill is 1.63%, the year to year inflation is 1.8% , thus the value of an investment in US Treasury bonds shrinks with time. Yet, by law, Social Security must invest in Government securities.
17
Trump is hampering the Federal Reserve Board's ability to avoid a recession.
Trump's recession-causing tariffs are to blame.
He's brought on retaliatory tariffs that are sure to hasten and deepen the now-likely recession.
This recession was a "maybe", until Trump made it a "likely".
29
A wizard Trump is not. Though his base doesn't understand the dynamics of the global economy to know the damage he is doing (based on personal conversations with some of his supporters), they surely are going to feel the full impact of his policies when their jobs, their retirement accounts, their social security and other social safety nets are gone. I wonder who they will blame then?
19
Start with truckers who voted for Trump and now hate his guts
8
@Bill
They will blame whomever he tells them to blame.
18
@S James
Unfortunately, very true.
2
So there are no grown ups in the room. Great. I'm sure the markets will like that the Fed is no longer independent.
17
Robbing the small savers of their interest income is not going to be a plus for the economy. It will be great for the predators of Wall Street, but not do anything for the economy. It's pretty obvious who Trump is trying to help.
43
I guess I have been under the impression all of these years that the Federal Reserve acted independently without political interference. I am embarrassed to admit thst I have been so naive.
The one thing I have to admit about Trump is that he sure as brought out in the open how the Goverment really operates behind closed doors.
How disappointing.
16
@Jean
This is a Trump problem, not a Fed problem. The Fed is independent and they can ignore the bluster coming from Donald, no matter how much pressure he puts on.
15
@Mark McIntyre
We hope ....
6
@Mark McIntyre
But will the Fed do that?
1
Powell raised rates in 2019. He is currently clueless.
China can fall if he cuts rates dramatically. Let’s get it on ! It is as if he wants foreign governments to have negative rates..Ok watch the market fall and then the Fed will respond. Between Trump and Powell we can do so much better. Maybe both of them can resign .
3
Finally, Trump has turned our economy into his play thing...another doomed to failed casino. Meanwhile his pedophile wall street pals, who would not give him a dime back in the 1990s, are setting us all up for another crash and purge.
68
@Kyle
We are going to get hit hard if China sells all their bonds. China is hedged they are shorting the stock markets right now. Trump doesn’t get it.
13
Prediction: Trump will attack Powell for his comments.
By the end of business today.
18
@J. Swift
In a closer look at the article, Trump has already responded:
Mr. Trump, who regularly accuses the Fed of slowing the economy by raising rates in 2018 and has urged it to cut aggressively, lashed out at Mr. Powell after the remarks.
“As usual, the Fed did NOTHING!” Mr. Trump said in a tweet. “My only question is, who is our bigger enemy, Jay Powel or Chairman Xi?,” the president wrote, a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
9
Trump's comment that they should fight of "go home" makes me think of his comments about the squad
2
@bob
I would call that an axiom, not a prediction.
1
When our president sends mixed messages, thumps his chest, bullies subordinates and allies, backtracks and postures, every branch of government is thrown into a weird kind of theater, where up is down, promises are not promises, and nothing can be securely pinned down.
Sure wouldn't want the job of fed chief in this cartoon.
21
1) Cutting interest rates imply an increase in money supply. With excess money chasing goods, price level will inevitably rise => INFLATION INCREASES
=> Real income of consumers FALLS
2) Today China slammed tariffs $US 75 billion worth of tariffs on imports (on top of existing tariffs)
=> (IMPORTED) INFLATION INCREASES
=> Real income of consumers FALLS
=> Business face higher costs for input goods
The US annual fiscal deficit is poised reach US$ 1 trillion and national debt stands at US$ 22 TRILLION which is greater than GDP => How long more before the Fed monetises the deficit, leading to INCREASED INFLATION as well?
Since the mid-2000s, the US Dollar has lost 8% of its value*
Phenomena 1 and 3 will definitely work to reduce its value further
Many express supreme confidence that the US cannot default on its debt or that the US dollar will NEVER collapse. But where is the country heading? Surely things aren't exactly improving and a course correction is needed? Am I alone on this?
China is pitching the Yuan to become a global currency. It may long way off but I think the only thing which keeps demand for $US strong is that it's the only currency which can be used to purchase oil.
If Iran starts accepting Yuan or Rubles or Rupees, demand for the US dollar will slowly decrease, and its prevalence in international transactions will gradually diminish. Why is Trump pushing Iran into a corner and demanding China and India stop importing oil from it?
16
Powell is an actual conservative. No wonder the RINO president disparages him.
7
Maybe we should call TariffMan's self-destructive bursts of tariffs, the Smoot-HOWLER Tariffs, in honor of the tariffs that poured accelerant on the Great Depression and the President himself, who in destroying the family farm and pushing industrial output into recession territory, frequently emits howlers about his tariffs' effectiveness (trade wars are "easy", etc.).
A quibble with the Fed, whose courage may save us from total disaster. The uncertainty is only about how long it will take for TariffMan to plunge us into full-fledged recession. No one has repealed the business cycle but woe to him who, like the President, makes it worse.
16
Is Trump creating more of a crisis in order to get the Fed to lower rates, which will then benefit his real estate business and allow him to claim that he knows Fed policy better than the Fed?
31
POTUS appointed the head of the FED, who is reluctant to reduce rates because of the POTUS' trade wars. How long before the twitter-in-chief responds?
Trade wars initiated by POTUS and the uncertainties of Brexit, supported by POTUS are sources of economic uncertainty which should restrain the FED from immediate rate cuts.
21
A little reminder. 1979 Canadian 3 months T-bills, were yielding 19%. In 1982, Canadian banks had to cap mortgage interests at 25%. In 83, i was declining more loans of any type than accepting new ones.
1
Pop quiz: Who was the first President to whine repeatedly about the Fed and to use the phrase “Make America Great Again?” A: Ronald Reagan.
13
Hope the Fed members understand that Trump is just using them as scapegoats. When the economy is great it's thanks to him, but when anything goes wrong he will blame the Fed, China, the Democrats, the phase of the moon, or anything else.
Evading responsibility has been his MO all his life and now the stakes for him are higher than ever. So watch out.
238
Donald Trump is keeping at least one of his campaign promises: to do to America what he did to the properties he held as a private citizen. Take a company, spend exorbitant amounts of other people’s money on it in order to advance his and his friends interests, bankrupt the company and then stick his creditors with the bill. In the case of our wonderful country he is taking our money, distributing it to himself and his rich friends, then sticking the bill onto our children and grandchildren in the form of budget deficits. Through poorly thought-out policy, threats and bluster he is bankrupting our country.
650
@Ben
Exactly correct, except that these policies are not poorly thought-out. They are working perfectly as intended for a select few.
32
@Ben
Please fill me in again on exactly why are we letting him do this to us?
13
@Wally Wolf Because 200 years ago, slave-owning rich white men decided that democracy meant that living in a low-density slave state should give a person extra voting power.
15
Lets just face reality.
This whole entanglement with China is all about American greed on the part of companies who have been outsourcing manufacturing for decades to increase profits, and American consumerism. We are addicted to stuff. The cheaper the better. How many headlines read: The American Consumer will spend our way out of recession. That means buying stuff made in china!
Time to look in the mirror America.
If its not clear to you by now that looking to Trump to do anything helpful for America is a fools errand, then you and the rest of America are destined to be the unemployed fool with a shattered 401k.
The Fed can manage monetary policy but not economic policy. And remember anything that Trump touches and everyone who supports or works with Trump ends up bankrupt.
52
The Fed is supposed to work independently to secure a strong economy, it is not supposed to be an executive branch partner that works as an enabler of executive branch economic and/or foreign policy.
Fed independence is a key pillar that enables the world - rightly or wrongly, but nevertheless- to place a significant measure of trust trust in U.S. leadership.
67
Yeah but the Fed is losing it’s independence.
By further cutting rates (in absence of a recession), the Fed is signaling that they are willing to follow the president’s orders.
11
What do you mean fall? This is mutually assured destruction.
1