The Straits Times World News
· collected 2026-09-05 · by The Straits Times
US President Donald Trump has intensified pressure on the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, threatening to cut off trade with countries that have a deficit with the US if the central bank doesn't act. In a social media post on September 4, Trump called for the Fed to "lower the rate" and said he wouldn't allow high interest rates to put the US at an "unfair disadvantage". The Fed's next policy meeting is scheduled to start on September 15, but investors have already boosted bets on a rate hike in response to a stronger-than-expected August jobs report. Trump claims that lowering interest rates would help the economy and that he has the authority to cut off trade with countries like Switzerland, Mexico, and the European Union if they don't comply.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event.
Trump demands Fed lower rates, reviving pressure campaign
AI generated
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Fed → demand → campaign
US President Donald Trump intensified pressure on the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, threatening to cut off trade with certain economies which the US has a deficit if the central bank doesn’t act.
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bank → intensify → deficit
Trump issued his demands on Sept 4 in a lengthy social media post after a stronger-than-expected August jobs report, which could bolster the case for Fed officials to raise rates at their next policy meeting starting Sept 15.
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officials → issue → Sept
In his post, the president exhorted his hand-picked Fed chairman Kevin Warsh, whom he called “great,” and board members to “get smart” and “BE PATRIOTS for a change.”
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he → exhort → change
“LOWER THE RATE OR I’LL STOP TRADING WITH COUNTRIES WITH WHICH WE HAVE A DEFICIT,” Trump posted.
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Trump → lower → DEFICIT
“High interest rates put the U.S.A. at a very unfair disadvantage, and I won’t allow that to happen!”
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that → put → disadvantage
Trump said the US Supreme Court, which struck down his previous tariff regime, had acknowledged his authority to do that.
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which → say → that
But if he moves forward with trade embargoes, it would almost certainly trigger a legal challenge.
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it → move → challenge
It’s unclear how such an action would help lower US borrowing costs.
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action → ’ → costs
Trump later on Sept 4 rejected the idea that a hike in rates would reassure bond markets that are worried about debt and inflation, saying that the US should be at a 1 per cent rate or lower.
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US → reject → rate
“It doesn’t reassure the bond market,” Trump said about raising interest rates.
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Trump → reassure → rates
Trump also defended his threat to cut off trade with certain economies, citing Switzerland, Mexico and the European Union, as an example of partners who benefited from their ties with the US.
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who → defend → US
“We have countries that are considered elite financially, like Switzerland, like others.
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that → have → others
But if we didn’t trade with them, they would be bankrupt countries,” Trump said.
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Trump → trade → them
“They’re considered elite because we have massive deficits with them.
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we → consider → them
We have the right not to trade.
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We → have → right
We have the right to put tariffs on them.”
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We → have → them
The Sept 4 message shows that Trump is running out of patience with the Fed just months after Warsh took over from Jerome Powell, whom the president routinely attacked over the bank’s policy decisions.
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president → show → decisions
Trump had pulled back on his pressure campaign against the Fed after Warsh became chair, but the post amounts to a resumption of it.
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post → pull → it
The president’s approval ratings have plummeted ahead of November’s midterm elections, as polls show Americans have panned his handling of the cost of living and the war in Iran.
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Americans → plummet → Iran
US jobs growth unexpectedly surged in August, with non-farm payrolls adding 162,000 positions, and the unemployment rate held steady.
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rate → surge → positions
Investors boosted bets on a rate hike at the Fed’s upcoming meeting in response, sending stocks and short-dated bonds lower.
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Investors → boost → stocks
Trump, who regularly touts a booming stock market as vindication for his policies, bristled at the slide in a subsequent post.
“We just got GREAT Numbers on Jobs, the Market should go UP, because our Credit and Economy are better but, as always, for the past 25 years, the Stock Market goes DOWN, because we’re living under False Reality that if things are good, you’ve got to ‘KILL IT’ because of a ‘fear’ of Inflation,” Trump said.
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Trump → tout → Inflation
The president in his posts went even further than his top White House economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, who earlier on Sept 4 said that the jobs numbers strengthened the case to keep interest rates the same.
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numbers → go → rates
“We respect the Fed’s independence, but I think the argument for holding steady would be pretty strong,” Hassett said on CNBC.
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Hassett → respect → CNBC
