President Donald Trump’s overnight volley on social media posts revealed his frustration with decision makers who need to work together to secure some of his key economic goals.
Early on Wednesday morning, Trump pointed to new data from the private pay processor ADP, showing the weakest monthly employment of all-time since March 2023, as further evidence that the Federal Reserve should lower interest rates to facilitate borrowing for consumers and businesses.
“ADP number out!!! “Too late” Powell now needs to lower the charges. He’s incredible!!! Europe has dropped 9 times! ” Trump wrote on his true social platform. (The European Central Bank has actually cut interest rates seven times since June last year.)
The remarks updated his request to extend the president’s long-term, unprecedented pressure campaign against the Fed chief who invited him to the White House last week, and directly lowering interest rates. The meeting encouraged a brief statement from the central bank, highlighting its independence from political influence.
Trump’s early Wednesday Post came after another night in which he complained about his efforts to reach a new trade deal with China and its president Xi Jinping.
“I like President XI of China, always and always, but he’s very difficult and very difficult to make a deal!!!” Trump wrote at 2:17am.
After campaigning for immediate economic relief for American households, Trump spent the first few months at the White House trying to rewrite the rules of global trade in favor of the US. In the process, he and his top officials sought to check voters’ expectations as they wanted new trade deals with dozens of countries that the US didn’t hop to attack faster than the administration had hoped for.
Meanwhile, the court’s ruling has obstructed some of the president’s unprecedented tariff agenda. Economists say it can cause more and more “stagflation.”
Trump is also working on a pushback to his massive agenda bill from Elon Musk (previously his best and most resourced allies) after Tech Titan called the bill “nasty and hateful” on Tuesday. NBC News reported Wednesday that House Speaker Mike Johnson had said Trump was “not happy” about Musk’s “180” on his agenda. Trump has not commented directly on Musk’s comments.
The Congressional Budget Office now predicts the bill will add $2.4 trillion to national debt over the next decade.
Trump has used the president’s bully pulpit to sidestep such concerns to assign criticism to those he perceives as obstacles to his economic agenda.
“The president said he believes the Fed’s chairman is making a mistake by not lowering interest rates. “The president has been very vocal about it. It can be revealed publicly and now, personally.”
Future economic data could incite new presidential complaints. Analysts expect new federal employment data to show 125,000 US employment benefits last month, less than the 177,000 added in April. The report is expected to be released the following day, when the European Central Bank updates its monetary policy on Thursday, it is widely expected that the European Central Bank will again lower its prices.
However, the economic outlook for Europe is far more uncertain than the economic outlook for the US. Euro area inflation now falls below the ECB’s 2% target, as BLOC rose to just 0.3% in the first quarter. Germany is usually the economic engine for the region, with contracts for the second year in a row, and trade tensions can exacerbate the problem. Generally, EU growth is hit by lower energy prices, slow wage growth, and strengthening currencies, all putting pressure on business activities.
In contrast, Goldman Sachs expects GDP to grow by more than 3% in the second quarter.
If Trump has been frustrated up until now, he may still have some cards to see his agenda, but it may involve tolerating some important issues. Earlier this week, Trump appointee Gov. Christopher Waller gave an updated view of the economic landscape.
“As of today, we see negative side risks to economic activity and employment and risks of rising inflation in the second half of 2025,” Waller said Monday at a meeting in South Korea.