Breaking News · Sep 4, 2026Trump: Cut Rates or I’ll Stop Trade with Deficit Countries

KEMETIC MINDS — BREAKING NEWS
September 04, 2026

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President Donald Trump on Friday demanded that the Federal Reserve slash interest rates or he will cut off trade with countries with which the U.S. maintains trade deficits, issuing the ultimatum in a Truth Social post reacting to a much-stronger-than-expected monthly jobs report ^[1].

Key Facts

• Trump wrote that employers added 162,000 jobs in August, calling the figure a “Great jobs number” that broke estimates “by double and triple,” and he urged the central bank and its chairman, Kevin Warsh, to “get smart” and cut rates ^[1].
• “LOWER THE RATE OR I’LL STOP TRADING WITH COUNTRIES WITH WHICH WE HAVE A DEFICIT,” Trump wrote, citing a U.S. Supreme Court tariff decision that he said “strongly acknowledged ‘the President’ has an absolute right to do” so ^[1].
• CNBC reported that, taken at face value, the threat to end trade with deficit-harboring countries is extreme because the U.S. has large deficits with dozens of countries, including its top trading partners ^[1].
• The Fed declined to comment on Trump’s post, and the White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for additional information on the post ^[1].
• The post comes two months before the midterm elections, where Americans’ unhappiness with persistent high inflation has been a dominant theme ^[1].

Trump’s Post and the Trade Threat

In the Truth Social post, Trump argued that lower rates are justified because “the U.S.A. is a much stronger credit than it was just a short time ago,” adding “A STRONG COUNTRY MEANS A LOWER INTEREST RATE – IT’S A BETTER CREDIT…Very simple!” and saying the U.S. “should have the LOWEST RATE of any country in the World, like ‘the old days'” ^[1]. He described the trade cutoff as “BETTER THAN TARIFFS,” writing, “Without the United States agreeing to allow them their big surpluses, and we could stop that immediately, they would no longer be considered financially ELITE!” ^[1]. “The Fed Board, with its great new leader, must get smart – BE PATRIOTS for a change. High interest rates put the U.S.A. at a very unfair disadvantage, and I won’t allow that to happen!” he wrote ^[1].

Trump has long sought lower interest rates and frequently complains about U.S. deficits with other countries ^[1]. The message shows Trump resuming his pressure campaign against the Fed, which had eased since the appointment of Warsh, his handpicked successor to Jerome Powell ^[1].

Fed and Administration Response

The Fed declined to comment on Trump’s post ^[1]. A week earlier, however, Warsh suggested in a speech that rate hikes could soon be on the table, and he said he is committed to bringing the inflation rate back down to the central bank’s 2% target ^[1]. “Short-term interest rates are the predominant tool to achieve the dual mandate,” Warsh said ^[1].

On Thursday, Vice President JD Vance called for lower rates, arguing that cutting them would be the “proper and responsible” response to recent U.S. inflation data ^[1].

What’s Still Unconfirmed

Whether the threatened trade cutoff would actually be implemented has not been reported; the White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for additional information on the post, and the Fed declined to comment ^[1]. Trump’s characterization of the Supreme Court decision as acknowledging an “absolute right” to halt such trade is attributed in the report only to his post ^[1].

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References

1. cnbc.com. (2026, September 4). Trump tells Fed to slash rates or he'll end trade with countries with U.S. surpluses. cnbc.com ↩a ↩b ↩c ↩d ↩e ↩f ↩g ↩h ↩i ↩j ↩k ↩l ↩m ↩n ↩o ↩p ↩q

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