Trump Watch 20180719

Today's Episode:  Trump Vs. The Fed!

One of the things that Trump has going for his administration is that the economic recovery has continued from the Obama era.  Reasonable or not, American Presidents get credit or blame for the economy during their administration.  I do believe that Trump's policies have continued to make for a strong stock market, and kept the labor market strong.  With that said, the economic situation has been strong for some time, and given that there is a history or boom and bust for economic cycles, there is an element of history that Trump should be concerned with.  One of the things that can heavily impact the financial landscape is interest rates, and traditionally higher interest rates will compete with securities markets for people to place their money.
The Federal Reserve is meant to be free of political influence (inasmuch as that is possible), and so legislators are expected to keep their comments, particularly criticisms, of their choices to a minimum.  Their "independence" is meant to ensure that they take their actions free of political motivations.  When the POTUS does make some commentary on the Federal Reserve's actions, it does have political overtones.
Interestingly enough, part of Trump's explanations for his commentary was:
"Now I'm just saying the same thing that I would have said as a private citizen," he said.  "So somebody would say, 'Oh, maybe you shouldn't say that as president.  I couldn't care less what they say, because my views haven't changed."
That statement by itself shows that he is aware that his words are POTUS carry more weight and implications than his word as a private citizen, but he doesn't really care about that distinction.
It is an interesting position, but it does bring into question whether such an attitude is really a good one for the POTUS...
It can also be seen as Trump laying the groundwork for setting up a defense in the event that the economy does take a negative turn.  It seems unlikely that he would want to take credit for a poor economy during his tenure, even if he is quite eager to take credit for a good economy so far.

• Trump Charity lawsuit by New York Attorney General
• FBI investigation (it keeps being called a Russian Collusion investigation, but I'm pretty sure more to it than that at this point)
• North Korea
• The Space Force
• The Border Wall
• Alien Children Detention/family separation
• Presidential Pardons
• Civil War Monuments
• Muslim Travel Ban
• China Tariffs/Trade
• Canada-G7 Tariffs/Trade
• NAFTA
• Puerto Rico response
• Military Parade in Washington
• World Trade Organization
• Covfefe Syndrome
• NATO
• Russia/Putin relationship

Giuliani still there as Lawyer
John F. Kelly still there as Chief of Staff - 6-29-2018  Trump says "Things Happen."
Jeff Sessions still there as Attorney General
Sarah Huckabee Sanders still there as Press Secretary, rumors continue to be denied.
Mike Pompeo - Secretary of State

John Bolton - National Security Advisor

Marc Short - White House Legislative Affairs Director - no denial of plans regarding his departure prior to the 2018 midterms.

Kirstjen Nielsen - Homeland Security Secretary

Joe Hagin - White House deputy Chief of Staff is resigning.- reported June 19th

Scott Pruitt - EPA Director - Resigned 7-5-2018