“I’m a low interest rate person” – Donald Trump 2016
On Donald Trump’s hit TV show, The Apprentice, contestants competed to be Trump’s chief apprentice. Predictably, each show ended when the field of contestants was narrowed down by the firing of a would-be apprentice. While the show was pure entertainment, we suspect Trump’s management style was on full display. Trump has run private organizations his entire career. Within these organizations, he had a tremendous amount of unilateral control. Unlike what is required in the role of President or that of a corporate executive for a public company, Trump largely did what he wanted to do.
On numerous occasions, Trump has claimed the stock market is his “mark-to-market.” In other words, the market is the barometer of his job performance. We think this is a ludicrous comment and one that the President will likely regret. He has made this comment on repeated occasions, leading us to conclude that, whether he believes it or not, he has tethered himself to the market as a gauge of performance in the mind of the public. We have little doubt that the President will do everything in his power to ensure the market does not make him look bad.
Warning Shots Across the Bow
On June 29, 2018, Trump’s Economic Advisor Lawrence Kudlow delivered a warning to Chairman Powell saying he hoped that the Federal Reserve (Fed) would raise interest rates “very slowly.”
Almost a month later we learned that Kudlow was not just speaking for himself but likely on behalf of his boss, Donald Trump. During an interview with CNBC, on July 20, 2018, the President expanded on Kudlow’s comments voicing concern with the Fed hiking interest rates. Trump told CNBC’s Joe Kernen that he does not approve [of rate hikes], even though he put a “very good man in” at the Fed referring to Chairman Jerome Powell.
“I’m not thrilled,” Trump added. “Because we go up and every time you go up they want to raise rates again. I don’t really — I am not happy about it. But at the same time I’m letting them do what they feel is best.”
“As of this moment, I would not see that this would be a big deal yet but on the other hand it is a danger sign,” he said.
