Should a president have more sway over interest rate decisions?

I'm David Brancaccio in New York.

As president, Donald Trump was sometimes critical of the Federal Reserve and its Chairman Jerome Powell.

Now, Candidate Trump is signaling that he would want to have more say on interest rate decisions

should he regain the presidency.

Most experts see the Fed's relative independence from politics as one pillar of U.S. economic

strength, Marketplace's Nova Safo reports.

The former president has made no secret of his disagreements with Jerome Powell even though he

appointed Powell as Fed chair.

Yesterday at a news conference at his Maralago resort in Florida, Trump went further

saying Powell and the Fed have mistimed their policies.

Trump said should he become president again, he would

want to have influence over the direction of interest rates, which is a key

function of the Central Bank tasked with setting monetary policy to keep inflation

under control and employment healthy.

I feel the president should have at least say in there. Yeah, I feel that strongly. I think that in my

case I made a lot of money. I was very successful and I think I have a better

instinct than in many cases people that would be on the Federal Reserve or the

Chairman. To be sure the Fed has gotten plenty of heat from economists and

investors. Criticisms include acting too late, terrain in inflation,

and waiting too long to cut rates as inflation cools. But Trump is signaling a profound shift.

Economists say the Fed's independence from political decisions

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