Trump ties trade to rates in demand for cuts from the Fed

According to CNBC, President Donald Trump demanded that the Federal Reserve slash interest rates or he would cut off trade with countries with which the United States maintains trade deficits. According to the same report, Trump later said in the Oval Office, "we should be paying the lowest interest rate in the world." According to CNBC, Trump issued the ultimatum after urging the Fed and its chairman, Kevin Warsh, to "get smart" and cut rates following a monthly jobs report.

According to CNBC, Trump wrote in a post, "LOWER THE RATE OR I'LL STOP TRADING WITH COUNTRIES WITH WHICH WE HAVE A DEFICIT." According to CNBC, the Fed declined to comment on Trump's post, and the White House did not respond to CNBC's request for additional information. An account posting as Reuters summarized the same threat as Trump saying if the Fed does not cut rates, he will stop trading with some nations.

Rate cut or no trade

According to CNBC, Trump's post cited employers adding 162,000 jobs in August, described the United States as a much stronger credit than a short time ago, and argued a strong country means a lower interest rate. According to CNBC, the post said the country should have the lowest rate of any country in the world.

According to CNBC, Trump in the Oval Office urged the Fed and Warsh to cut rates, put the cost of each point of interest at 650 billion dollars, and said rates should be at 1 percent or a half a percent rather than at 4 percent. According to CNBC, Vice President JD Vance had called for lower rates, and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said, "the Fed will do what it wants to do. We respect their independence, but I think the argument for holding steady would be pretty strong."

The deficit as leverage

According to CNBC, the United States has large deficits with dozens of countries, including its top trading partners, and has reported trade deficits in the tens of billions of dollars each month for decades. According to CNBC, Trump portrayed deficits as a zero-sum game and said, "all we have to do to cut our trade deficit with the country is not trade with them."

According to CNBC, Trump named Canada as an example and claimed doing no trading with Canada would save 90 billion dollars. According to CNBC, Canada is currently locked in a trade and tariff feud with the United States. According to CNBC, Trump also wrote that stopping trade would be better than tariffs.

Data centers, beef and growth numbers

In a post attributed to Trump, Clash Report quoted him saying, "If you want to get rich as a state, you will want data centers. If you want to go through poverty and crime, I would say don't approve data centers. You know, you have your choice." An account posting as unusual_whales quoted the same data centers line in nearly identical form.

In another post attributed to Trump, Clash Report quoted him saying, "We should be allowed to have a GDP of 12-13-14-15 instead of 2-3-4 all the time." An account posting as unusual_whales reported that Trump had signed an executive order making it easier for United States ranchers to sell and process their own beef.

Personnel, elections and campaign money

According to CNBC, Trump resumed pressure on Warsh, described as his handpicked successor to Jerome Powell. According to CNBC, Warsh a week earlier had suggested rate hikes could soon be on the table, saying he is committed to bringing inflation back to the central bank's 2 percent target and that short-term interest rates are the predominant tool to achieve the dual mandate.

According to CNBC, the comments arrived two months before midterm elections where Americans' unhappiness with persistent high inflation has been a dominant theme. An account posting as Reuters reported that Trump said he will spend 400 million dollars to 500 million dollars from his super PAC on midterm elections.

Accounts posting as Polymarket reported an 11 percent chance that Trump renames ICE to NICE, and separately reported a 12 percent chance for the same outcome. An account posting as Polymarket reported a 21 percent chance that Trump deports more than 500,000 people in 2026. According to CNBC, Trump said, "If we're not going to be treated properly, we're going to do that," in reference to cutting trade with deficit countries.

Source records

The sources below were retrieved for this article. Reposts and mirrors may share the same reporting.

• https://t.me/ClashReport/95101
• https://t.me/ClashReport/95114
• https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/04/trump-fed-rates-jobs-trade.html
• https://x.com/Polymarket/status/2095560230574723414
• https://x.com/Polymarket/status/2096339523726655707
• https://x.com/Polymarket/status/2096366769048818046
• https://x.com/Reuters/status/2095973959921553506
• https://x.com/Reuters/status/2096035624004325777
• https://x.com/unusual_whales/status/2095956814420693280
• https://x.com/unusual_whales/status/2096029586081648861