Donald Trump splits from central bank officials on rate cut, says Federal Reserve ‘MUCH better off…’

United States President Donald Trump on March 20 has urged the US Federal Reserve to cut rates. The view is different from central bank officials who are watching for the economic impact of his tariff war, according to a Bloomberg report.

In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, he wrote: “The Fed would be MUCH better off CUTTING RATES as U.S. Tariffs start to transition (ease!) their way into the economy. Do the right thing. April 2nd is Liberation Day in America!!! (sic)”

Donald Trump's Tariffs v Jerome Powell's Impact Watch

Donald Trump's opinion comes after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on March 19 announced the central bank's second monetary policy decision, following a two-day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.

Powell said the Fed voted to keep the benchmark interest rate steady at 4.25 per cent to 4.50 per cent amid amid stagflation risks fueled by Donald Trump's tariff war. The rate decision was in line with Wall Street estimates.

US Fed policymakers indicated they will likely lower the borrowing costs by half a percentage point by 2025-end of this year in the context of slowing economic growth and, eventually, a downturn in US inflation. The central bank hiked its projection of US inflation for 2025 and downgraded the US economic growth forecast.

Notably, the Trump administration plans to announce a more tariffs on April 2, 2025, but the details are not known, the Bloomberg report said.

Trump See-Saw: From Keeping Hands Off to Calling for Cuts

The report further noted that Donald Trump has sent “repeated mixed messages” — from stating he would not intervene in Fed decisions to calling for rate cuts.

Speaking to reporters on March 19, Donald Trump’s national economic adviser, Kevin Hassett said he “differed” from the Fed on its growth forecast, but emphasised that the US president and the White House “very much respect the independence of the Fed.”

Hassett siad he anticipated a 2.5 per cent growth rate, compared to the Fed's prediction of 1.7 per cent growth rate.

(With inputs from Bloomberg)