COMMERCE/ECONOMY/FEDERAL RESERVE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump is getting exactly what he wants on the economy, but it may not last. The Federal Reserve has abruptly stopped its march toward higher interest rates, as Mr. Trump demanded. The tax cuts he signed in late 2017 are in full swing. His attempt to rewrite the global rules of trade are underway, and he proclaims himself happy with the array of new tariffs he has imposed. His recent comments suggest he is unconcerned about slowdowns in China and Europe, which he considers economic rivals. But while Mr. Trump points with pride to last year’s economic growth and promises even faster growth to come, there are signs that his most dependable talking point is eroding. On Thursday [3-28-19], the Commerce Department issued a downward revision of its estimates for economic growth in the fourth quarter, pushing one measure of the full year’s growth down as well. Forecasters outside the White House, including officials at the Fed, expect growth to slow even more this year. Economic data suggests that slowdown is already underway in the first quarter.”
–Jim Tankersley, “Trump Owns the Economy Now, for Better or Worse,” The New York Times online, March 28, 2019