Trump Suggests He Won’t Try to Talk Warsh Out of Rate Hike

President Donald Trump declined to criticize Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh for suggesting he might raise interest rates, instead saying he trusts his appointee will do what needs to be done.

When asked by the Daily Signal whether he opposes Warsh’s potential rate increase and whether he has spoken to Warsh about it, Trump said “no.”

“I have a lot of respect for him, and he’ll do what he has to do,” the president told the Daily Signal in the Oval Office on Monday.

Still, Trump said he thinks “our interest rates are too high.”

“We should have the lowest interest rates in the world, because if we wanted to, you know, a lot of countries that are paying less interest rate only because of us, because they do business with us,” he said.

In his first speech at the annual Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium on Friday, Warsh said that while inflation numbers have recently been better than expected, “they do not tell me that underlying trends have meaningfully improved.”

“Inflation is running above our 2% target, so the Fed’s predominant focus right now should be on prices,” he said.

Trump said he hopes one day, “we’ll be able to convince people” that the U.S. should have the lowest interest rates in the world.

“It’s very easy,” he said. “Again, you take certain countries—I don’t want to mention any—but countries that you consider great, and they’re paying a half a point, right? Half a point. But they make $40 billion a year with the United States.”

Trump said when the economy is doing well, the Fed shouldn’t raise rates.

“They should, in many cases, lower because you know what? We become a better credit,” he said. “When we’re doing well, we become a better credit. When you become a better credit, you’re supposed to cut rates, not raise rates.”