President Trump unleashed sharp criticism of the Federal Reserve on Wednesday after its Board of Governors voted 12-0 to raise interest rates by 25 basis points, the first such increase since 2023. The hike came seven weeks before the midterm elections, drawing an immediate response from Trump on Truth Social calling for lower rates.
Speaking to reporters at Charlotte airport, Trump described the Fed’s Board of Governors as “very hostile” and “very political,” accusing the body of keeping rates artificially high and blocking the United States from paying down its national debt. “The board is very hostile. They’re very political. They’re doing the wrong thing,” he said.
Trump Stands Behind Kevin Warsh but Rips the Board
When asked whether he still has confidence in Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh, Trump said he does, while drawing a clear line between Warsh and the broader board. “I’m relying on Kevin, but he’s got a very tough board. He’s got a board that was put there by a lot of other people,” Trump told reporters. He added that he had advised Warsh ahead of the vote, saying, “I talked to Kevin, and I said you might as well vote with the board because it’s not going to matter.”
Trump also pushed back on Warsh’s characterization of the rate decision during the Fed chairman’s press conference, where Warsh called it a “sober decision, serious decision, responsible decision.” Trump’s response was direct: “I would tell you interest rates are too high.” He went further, accusing the board of acting against his administration specifically. “They’re raising the rates to make Trump do as bad as they can possibly do,” he said. You can read more about the Federal Reserve interest rate decision and the political fallout in the original reporting.
WATCH:
Trump: “Interest rates are too high… We should be paying the lowest interest rates anywhere in the world because we have the strongest credit.” pic.twitter.com/zzCST7nm9d
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) September 16, 2026
Trump Calls for 1% Rates, Points to Record U.S. Investment
Later Wednesday, during remarks in Gastonia, North Carolina, Trump went further and put a specific number on where he believes rates should be. “Interest rates in the United States should be 1% or less because we are the best credit in the world, by far, with all that money pouring in,” he said. He cited what he described as more than $21 trillion being invested in the country, calling it five times more than ever recorded before.
Trump argued that the United States deserves the lowest interest rates in the world given its credit strength and investment levels. “Lower the interest rates for the United States of America and fast because we can grow at a level that nobody’s ever grown before,” he said, adding that cutting off trade with countries running deficits against the U.S. could generate at least $1.5 trillion per year. He also reiterated that eliminating deficits through trade policy could allow the country to pay off its national debt. “We’d make a trillion and a half dollars a year. We’d pay off our debt,” he said, though he noted, “we haven’t chosen to do that. But at some point, we will.”
