President Donald Trump's overnight social media post reveals his frustration with policymakers who need to work together to secure some of his top economic goals.
In the early hours of Wednesday, Trump noted that new data from private payroll processor ADP showed the weakest monthly jobs since March 2023, further evidence that the Fed should lower interest rates to make it easier for consumers and businesses to borrow.
"ADP Numbers!! "Too Late" Powell must now slow down. He is incredible!!! Europe has dropped 9 times!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social Platform. (The European Central Bank has actually dropped seven times since June last year.)
The remarks have expanded the president’s long-term, unprecedented pressure campaign for the Fed’s head, who invited him to the White House last week and renewed the demand in person. The meeting prompted the central bank to highlight its independence from its political influence.
Trump posted a separate post earlier Wednesday, complaining overnight about his efforts to reach a new trade deal with China and its President XI Jinping.
"I like Xi Jinping in China, always and always will, but he is very difficult and it is difficult to reach a deal with it!" Trump wrote at 2:17 am
Trump has spent months at the White House trying to rewrite the favorable U.S. global trade rules after providing direct economic relief to American families. In the process, he and his senior officials tried to check voter expectations as the U.S. media struck new trade deals with dozens of countries, and these deals proved that they were less eager to strike as quickly as the government hoped.
Meanwhile, court rulings obscured some of the president’s unprecedented tariff agenda, which economists increasingly say could trigger “stagnation” – higher inflation and lower growth and higher unemployment.
Trump is also struggling on Elon Musk’s massive agenda bill after tech giants called the bill “disgustingly abominable” on Tuesday. NBC News reported Wednesday that House Speaker Mike Johnson said Trump was not satisfied with Musk's "180" on the agenda. Trump did not directly comment on Musk's comments.
The Congressional Budget Office now expects the bill to increase national debt by $2.4 trillion over the next 10 years.
Trump used the president's bullying podium to blame him for his blame on the obstacles to his economic agenda, which is giving senior administration officials amplified.
"The president does say he thinks the Fed chairman is making mistakes by not lowering interest rates, which puts us at a disadvantage to China and other countries," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said last week. "The president is very voiced about it, whether it is public, and now I can also disclose it privately."
The upcoming economic data could re-induce the president's frustration. Analysts expect fresh federal job data to show 125,000 U.S. job gains last month, less than the 177,000 gains in April. The report will be released on Friday morning, the second day after the European Central Bank lowered interest rates again as it updated its monetary policy on Thursday.
But the economic outlook for Europe is more uncertain than that for the United States. Now, inflation in the euro zone is hovering below 2% of the ECB as the group grew only 0.3% in the first quarter. Often, the region’s economic engines are signed for two consecutive years, and trade tensions can make things worse. Overall, EU growth has been hit by weaker energy prices, slower wage growth and enhanced currency, all of which put pressure on business activities.
By contrast, Goldman Sachs expects U.S. GDP to grow by more than 3% in the second quarter.
If so far Trump has been frustrated, he can still hold some cards that allow him to see his agenda-although that may involve relaxing on some key issues. Earlier this week, Fed Gov. Christopher Waller was the Trump-appointed person - an updated view on the current economic landscape.
"As of today, I have seen upside risks of economic activity and employment and inflation as well as upside risks of inflation, but these risks are very related to the development of trade policy," Waller said at a meeting in South Korea on Monday.