This time, it was a tweet from Bloomberg Opinion about Europe's difficulty in dissuading foreign tourists from visiting its popular landmarks (like, you know, the Cathedral of Notre Dame) that set Trump off. In a tweet, he accused the Europeans of manipulating the euro (and noted that other countries are doing the same to their currencies).
This is because the Euro and other currencies are devalued against the dollar, putting the U.S. at a big disadvantage. The Fed Interest rate way to high, added to ridiculous quantitative tightening! They don't have a clue! https://t.co/0CpnUzJqB9Though the Treasury added a few countries to its 'watch list' released last month, it declined to name any countries to its list of currency manipulators.
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 11, 2019
Meanwhile, Trump also bashed the Fed over its insistence on targeting higher inflation, saying (as most 'normal' people, ie nonbankers and members of the 1%, would agree) that nobody wants higher prices.
While economists once dismissed Trump's Fed bashing and more recently his demands for a 1 percentage point rate cut as something between self-interest and madness, one economist recently pointed out that Trump has been extremely successful in shifting the economic conversation closer to his view.
Though in a sign that the markets aren't taking Trump's jawboning seriously after that Treasury report showed the US once again decided to pull its punches, the euro's reaction was muted.
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