Really, he, too, is ‘very smart’
Don lauds embattled Treasury secretary
President Trump claimed Tuesday he’s happy with Steven Mnuchin — despite a tumbling stock market brought on by the embattled Treasury secretary’s unconvincing reassurances to the banking sector.
Following an Oval Office videoconference with members of the military, Trump lauded Mnuchin as “very talented” and “very smart.”
“Yes, I do,” the President told reporters when asked if he has confidence in the Treasury chief.
Trump’s praise came on the heels of Mnuchin publicly announcing he had confirmed with the heads of the country’s six largest banks that they have enough liquidity to operate in a stock market that has plunged sharply since October.
The announcement unsettled traders who noted such public declarations are typically issued only at times of financial instability and crisis.
Mnuchin’s announcement — coupled with a derisive tweet from Trump about the Federal Reserve — resulted in a serious stock market dent Monday.
The Dow Jones sunk 653, points, or 2.9%, the industrial average’s worst Christmas Eve setback in history. Other indexes followed suit, including the benchmark S&P 500, which dropped 2.7%.
Stocks, overall, are currently experiencing their worst free fall since the 2008 financial crisis, and traders are fretting about an across-the-board slowdown in global economic growth.
The President, who compared the Fed to a bad golfer who “can’t putt!” on Monday, toned down his rhetoric a bit Christmas Day but still took a shot at the central banking system for raising interest rates four times this year.
“They’re raising interest rates too fast,” Trump said. “They think the economy is so good, but I think that they will get it pretty soon, I really do.”
Trump’s handpicked Federal Reserve chairman, Jerome Powell, has justified the rate hikes as necessary to preclude the market from overheating at a time of historic growth and low unemployment rates.
But the hikes, Trump’s aggressive trade war with China, a lingering government shutdown and general chaos in the administration have resulted in plummeting stocks — which has upset the President, who used to take credit for market booms and deem them proof his economic policy is working.
Widespread speculation that Trump may try to fire Powell has made traders even more wary.
The President sought to downplay such concerns Christmas Day and suggested traders should not fear the increasingly volatile market.
“I think it’s a tremendous opportunity to buy,” Trump said. “Really a great opportunity to buy.”