If the nation confronts a protracted crisis, we're doomed. Following Wednesday’s stock sell-off that sent the Dow tumbling by more than 800 points, Trump sought to calm the nation by calling the Fed "crazy." Investors were reportedly worried about rising interest rates, precipitating the sell-off.
“The Fed is making a mistake,” Mr. Trump told reporters in Erie, PA, where he was scheduled to do a rally. “I think the Fed has gone crazy.”
The Fed has raised short-term interest rates three times this year. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield, a key indicator, hit 3.2 percent, among its highest benchmark point since the recession. Amid the market drop, the worst decline in more than seven months, Trump's press shop initially sought to project a nothing-to-see-here sense of calm from the West Wing.
“The fundamentals and future of the U.S. economy remain incredibly strong,” Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.
But the commander in chief? He's pointing fingers and telling Americans the people he put in charge just aren't that sane.
No wonder an Iowa Poll last month found that fully three quarters of Hawkeye respondents express concern about the way decisions are being made in the White House.
The largest share — 36 percent — say they are convinced what is happening is not normal and safe.
Not safe. Trump won Iowa by 9 points in 2016. More pollsters should ask that question.