DETROIT: President Donald Trump renewed criticism of Federal Reserve (Fed) chairman Jerome Powell as he championed his economic policies and tariff regime during an event to mark his 100th day in office.
“Inflation is basically down and interest rates came down despite the fact that I have a Fed person who’s not really doing a good job,” Trump said at a rally just outside of Detroit, Michigan.
The president’s denunciation came even though earlier this month he said he did not plan to fire the central bank chief, despite persistent criticism of the Fed’s pace of interest rate cuts.
Uncertainty around Powell’s fate jolted markets, compounding investor fears about Trump’s tariff plans.
“You’re not supposed to criticise the Fed,” Trump said. “You’re supposed to let him do his own thing – but I know much more than he does about interest rates.”
Trump wrapped the criticism in a broader defense of his signature economic policies, arguing that his sweeping tariff programme would inspire a wave of economic growth and lure manufacturers back to the United States.
Yet hours before the rally, Trump signed directives easing some of his planned tariffs, including a two-year reduction in 25% auto parts levies for components used in cars and trucks finished in the United States.
The president cast the move as “a little flexibility” designed to offer companies time to move their manufacturing back, while issuing a dire warning to automakers who might still look to import parts.
“We gave them a little bit of time before we slaughter them,” Trump said.
Polls showed voters are wary of Trump’s economic agenda and worried that the tariffs could tip the economy into a recession and spike consumer prices.
Consumer confidence in April hit a five-year low.
While Trump in Michigan dismissed the surveys as biased against him, he sought to rebuild support for his economic agenda, framing the tariffs as a necessary step to offset the cost of his upcoming tax legislation.
The bill is an extension of his 2017 tax cuts, but with additional items including eliminating the tax on tipped wages, social security and overtime pay.
He warned about possible Republican detractors, saying they should be challenged if they fail to support his agenda.
“Remember who those grandstanders are and vote them the hell out of office,” Trump said.
The event marked the fabled benchmark of early presidential success before an audience caught squarely in the middle of Trump’s campaign to overhaul global trade and rebuild the US industrial base.
Macomb County, which split 56% for Trump in the 2024 presidential race, is emblematic of many former Democratic, blue-collar strongholds that were receptive to the president’s economic promises on the campaign trail.
Winning those areas helped him easily return to the White House, sweeping all seven swing states and securing the popular vote.
Many residents in places like suburban Detroit, home to plants tied to General Motors Co and Stellantis NV, have championed Trump’s aggressive trade policy, seizing on his promises of revitalised domestic manufacturing and the resurgence of good-paying factory jobs.
But automakers are warning that stiff levies could cause plant shutdowns and job losses instead.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether the changes would be enough to restart production halted in the wake of Trump’s earlier import duty announcements.
Stellantis had previously paused production to adapt to the changes, causing temporary layoffs in Michigan and Indiana, as well as at a Canadian plant across the Detroit River.
Another potential test case for Trump lies just down the road at Stellantis’ Warren Truck Assembly Pant, where workers build the company’s Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer sport utility vehicles.
Sales have been underwhelming, and output was temporarily halted last month because of a shortage of engines, with a restart expected in this week or next week.
The United Auto Workers, whose president Shawn Fain has praised Trump’s automotive tariffs, has pointed to Warren as evidence that Stellantis has capacity to build more cars and trucks in the United States, and summon laid-off members back to work.
Doug King, a 30-year-old Stellantis employee at Trump’s rally, said he was excited by the president’s trade vision and believes a boost to manufacturing will happen “quicker than you think”. — Bloomberg
