Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said the U.S. should have the lowest borrowing costs in the world while defending Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh and blaming other policymakers for resisting easier monetary policy.
“Rates should be lowered… We have other countries that are paying less interest rates,” Trump said, according to Reuters.
“We should have the lowest interest rate in the world,” he added.
The remarks come just two days before the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announces its monetary policy decision, with investors sharply divided over whether policymakers will leave rates unchanged or opt for a surprise 25-basis-point increase.
Trump threw his support behind Warsh while suggesting the broader Federal Reserve Board was preventing rate cuts.
“Kevin is fantastic, but he’s got a board, and the board members are very political,” Trump said aboard Air Force One, referring to Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, adding that he knew what Warsh wanted to do, Reuters reported.
CNBC reported Trump went further, saying, “Kevin’s fantastic, but he’s got a board, and the board members are very political, I would say. He wants to do the right thing. I know what he wants to do.”
The president also questioned the motives of other Fed officials.
“You need the consent of some people that have perhaps bad intentions. Rates should be lowered. This country could be at 8%, 9%, 10%, 12% [annualized growth of] GDP. That’s what it should be,” Trump said, according to CNBC.
“We should have the lowest interest rate in the world, like it used to be 30 years ago,” he added.
The Fed’s benchmark policy rate currently stands at 3.5%-3.75%, unchanged since cumulative rate cuts in the second half of 2025.
Trump’s comments land as investors struggle to gauge the outcome of Wednesday’s FOMC meeting, with markets viewing it as one of the hardest Fed decisions to predict in years.
According to CNBC, markets are largely expecting policymakers to keep rates unchanged, although traders continue to assign meaningful odds to a quarter-point increase.
The uncertainty stems from conflicting economic signals. Recent inflation data showed price pressures easing, strengthening the case for patience. However, renewed tensions in West Asia have pushed oil prices higher, reviving concerns that energy costs could keep inflation elevated and justify tighter monetary policy.
Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan, a voting member of this year’s FOMC, recently argued benchmark interest rates should be “modestly higher,” reflecting concerns that inflation could remain persistent.
Former Kansas City Fed President Esther George told Yahoo Finance that the decision could go either way.
“The arguments you could create for them holding or raising seem pretty valid, but Kevin Warsh is not going to give you any tidbits to lead in the direction he wants to go,” George said.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if they hiked by 25 basis points at this meeting,” she added, noting that September still appeared to be the more likely timing for additional tightening.
Former Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester also expects an active debate inside the central bank.
“For sure, they’re going to be discussing if it’s time to move the interest rate up or not,” Mester told Yahoo Finance. “They’re going to have to ask themselves whether policy is at the right level to get inflation moving back down to 2%. Chair Warsh has been pretty vocal on saying that they’re not going to tolerate inflation.”
Unlike recent years, when the Federal Reserve often signalled policy moves well in advance, Warsh has favoured less predictable communication, raising uncertainty around Wednesday’s outcome and leaving markets braced for either an extended pause or a surprise rate increase.