Donald Trump’s call for interest rates to be lowered seemed to stump The Wall Street Journal’s conservative editorial board, which wondered aloud whether the president needs an economics lesson.
In an opinion piece published Wednesday, the Journal's editorial board delivered a scathing analysis of Trump’s demand for interest rates to drop, which he added on his Truth Social platform “would go hand in hand with upcoming Tariffs!!!”
“The layers of intellectual confusion here are hard to parse, especially since higher tariffs will mean higher prices on the affected goods,” the Journal's editors wrote. “But perhaps the president wants the public to look elsewhere when assigning blame for rising prices.”
The “Trumponomics” of it all in the face of rising inflation left the editorial board ready to enlighten Trump. His economic message also presented another risk, they warned.
“Does President Trump understand money?” the Journal’s editors asked. “Not money as in cash, but the supply of money, the price of money as measured by interest rates, and their impact on inflation? The answer would appear to be no.”
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They added that Trump as a real estate investor “has long been an easy-money guy” who values “low rates and a weak dollar.” But in the real world, that combination could ultimately lead to higher prices, the board wrote – and a hit to Trump’s approval rating.
“As a political matter, an inflation revival may be the biggest threat to the Trump Presidency,” the editorial board concluded Wednesday. “Mr. Trump was elected as voters reacted to inflation and falling real incomes under Joe Biden. Real average earnings are flat over the last three months as inflation has bounced up.”
"If this persists, Mr. Trump won’t have a 53% job approval rating for long."
