Trump tells markets 'the only problem our economy has is the Fed'

On December 24, 2018, with the Dow Jones down roughly 650 points on the holiday-shortened trading day, Trump tweeted "The only problem our economy has is the Fed. They don't have a feel for the Market they don't understand necessary Trade Wars or Strong Dollars or even Democrat Shutdowns over Borders," adding that Fed Chairman Jerome Powell was "like a powerful golfer who can't score because he has no touch - he can't putt!" The tweet came two days after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin issued a weekend statement seeking to reassure markets that Powell's job was secure, following reports that Trump had discussed firing him. Commentators described the tweet as an unprecedented public pressure campaign by a sitting president against the independence of the Federal Reserve, with Trump attributing the market's decline to the central bank rather than to his own trade-war escalation or the ongoing government shutdown fight referenced in the same tweet.

“The only problem our economy has is the Fed. They don't have a feel for the Market they don't understand necessary Trade Wars or Strong Dollars or even Democrat Shutdowns over Borders. The Fed is like a powerful golfer who can't score because he has no touch - he can't putt!” Quote verified against source