President Donald Trump does not have the support of the vast majority of Americans in his efforts to reduce the independence of the Federal Reserve, according to a CNN analyst.
For months, Trump has actively been attempting to get Chairman Jerome Powell to reduce interest rates, but Powell and the majority of the Federal Reserve governors have stood their ground, only reducing rates when they saw fit.
On Sunday, Chairman Powell revealed that he is under a criminal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, an investigation stemming from his congressional testimony on the renovation of Federal Reserve buildings. The Fed is fully self-funded, and that renovation is not funded by American taxpayers.
The American people think it is “incredibly important that the Fed acts independently of Donald Trump, and they think it’s best for the economy,” says CNN analyst Harry Enten.
“We’re talking about more than two-thirds of adults — 68 percent, 91 percent of Democrats, 75 percent of independents, and even 41 percent — two-fifths of Trump’s base, thinks it’s important that the Fed acts independently of Trump for the best of the economy,” Enten explained.
“The bottom line is, the American people vigorously disagree with the president of the United States on this,” he continued. “They want a Fed that acts independently of him, because they think it’s best for the economy.”
“Donald Trump is losing the political fight to Jerome Powell,” Enten added. He pointed to a December Gallup poll in which, he said, “Trump comes in at negative 23 points” and has “an approval rating way, way, way underwater.”
And while Powell is “not the most popular guy in the world,” he is “actually the most popular guy that Gallup polled of any, any of the politicians, any of the folks in government, he is far more popular than Donald Trump.”
