Trump Demands Lowest Interest Rates, Fed Shrugs and Passes the Buck

KEY POINTS

•President Trump pushed for lower interest rates at the Davos World Economic Forum on January 21, 2026.
•Despite Fed rate cuts totaling 1.75% from 2024 to 2025, long-term borrowing costs actually increased to 4.27%.
•Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed Trump 'always knew where he was going,' even as tariff threats caused market jitters.

At the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos, President Trump announced plans to nominate a new Federal Reserve chairman who 'promises to do the right thing' by slashing interest rates — apparently unaware that even a magical Fed wizard can't outwit global bond markets powered by trillion-dollar gamblers. Despite the Fed's two major rate cuts since 2024 (dropping rates by 1.75% cumulatively), 10-year Treasury yields stubbornly climbed from 3.7% to 4.27% by January 2026. Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent insists Trump 'always knew where he was going,' even as Trump's history of tariff tantrums and Greenland invasion threats fizzled under market pressure. As JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon dryly put it: 'The Fed is just a follower,' not Trump's personal financial genie. The mighty 'TACO trade'—betting Trump chickens out—once again proved well-seasoned.