ECONOMY/FEDERAL RESERVE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump continued his assault on the Federal Reserve on Monday [6-24-19], blaming the central bank for reining in a United States economy that is on track to reach its longest expansion in history. Mr. Trump, in a pair of tweets, said the economy and stock market would have been even stronger had the Fed kept interest rates low rather than raising rates four times in 2018…The president’s criticism of the Fed comes at an odd moment: As of July 1, the United States will have experienced the longest economic expansion on record, ten years and running. The unemployment rate is at its lowest level in nearly 50 years, and inflation — though quiescent — has at least gotten close to the central bank’s 2 percent goal. By lifting rates from near zero and shrinking the massive volume of government-backed bonds on its balance sheet, the central bank has bought itself precious space to fight the next economic downturn when it comes. The Fed has already signaled that it is prepared to cut rates at its next meeting, with Fed Chairman Jerome H. Powell reiterating last week that officials will take steps to sustain the economic expansion.”
–Jeanna Smialek, “The Economy Is About to Hit a Record. Trump Says the Fed ‘Blew It.’,” The New York Times online, June 24, 2019