Trump, Powell, and the trade war: What should the Federal Reserve do?

Early last week, President Trump asked Twitter, “Who is our bigger enemy, Jay Powell or Chairman Xi?” Days later Bill Dudley, a former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, wrote in Bloomberg Opinion that Trump’s ongoing attacks on Powell have made the Fed’s desire to remain apolitical untenable, and Fed officials should perhaps consider how their actions would affect the outcome of the 2020 election.

What should we make of the escalating tensions between the White House and the Federal Reserve? Ramesh Ponnuru joined us to help break it down. Ramesh is a visiting fellow at AEI, where he studies the future of conservatism with a particular focus on health care, economic policy, and constitutionalism. He is also a senior editor for National Review, where he has covered national politics and public policy for 20 years, a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion, and a contributor to CBS News.

You can subscribe to “Banter” on iTunes, Stitcher, or the podcast player of your choice, and archived episodes can be found at www.aei.org/feature/banter. This is Banter episode #378.

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