Trump lashes out at interest rates: ‘They’re too high. People can’t buy homes’

In an upcoming interview on “Meet the Press,” former President Trump told new host Kristen Welker he thinks current interest rates are too high.

“Right now, interest rates are very high,” Trump said in the interview set to air Sunday. “They’re too high. People can’t buy homes. They can’t do anything.”

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates to a 22-year high in July in an attempt to fight inflation. It was the Fed’s 11th interest rate hike since March 2022 because of recent inflation issues. 

In the past, Trump has said he would not reappoint Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. Trump had nominated him for the position back in 2018, with President Biden nominating him again for another four-year term after he took office. 

“Well, you know that I put a lot of pressure on him,” Trump told Welker. “It was outside pressure because nobody knows whether or not you can really do that, but I did. Because I thought his interest rates were too high and he ultimately dropped his interest rates.”

Consumer prices rose 3.7 percent over the last 12 months and 0.6 percent last month, according to consumer price index data. Despite the rise in August, experts expect the Fed to keep interest rates unchanged.