Trump hypocrisy No. 23,520: Accusing Fed governor of same thing he did himself | Opinion
It is funny that Donald Trump thinks an unproven allegation of mortgage fraud is enough to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook from office to be replaced, no doubt, by the kind of malleable Trump crony that populates the rest of his administration.
You see, last week, a New York appeals court upheld a proven allegation of mortgage fraud against Trump and his sons while overturning the half-billion-dollar penalty a lower court had imposed. Trump focused on the financial win for him and claimed vindication, but today Trump remains forbidden from being an officer or a director of a New York corporation and is not allowed to apply for a loan from a New York bank due to his proven misdeeds.
In Trump’s world, proven allegations against him mean nothing. Unproven allegations against those he disagrees with are “cause” for firing.
The hypocrisy is hardly the worst thing about Trump’s attempt to usurp the independence of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, which sets interest rate policy in an effort to balance job and economic growth with low inflation.
I don’t know how courts will rule on the case that Cook has said she will file contesting her ouster. There are good arguments on both sides and a long legal road on the way to the Supreme Court, but the practical impact of a political takeover of the Federal Reserve could have grave consequences.
Whether the Fed’s independence is constitutional or not, it is a key bulwark of faith in the U.S. economy for stock markets, bond investors and businesses from around the world making the decision to invest in America.
Inflation touched off by unwise interest rate cuts at the Fed, as Trump is pushing, would threaten job creation and your retirement savings, and it could blow up the bond market that supports the United States’ massive and growing budget deficit.
If those interest rates spike in the face of renewed inflation, it could spur an economic crisis that would make the Great Recession of 2007 seem tame.
Trump is playing a game with our financial lives that could have us looking back on Jimmy Carter with nostalgia..
Moreover, his claim that unproven allegations before Cook was in office are enough to fire her could be weaponized against Republican appointees in any future Democratic administration. If you back Trump, he is undermining the legacy of his own appointments through such rash, short-term thinking.
Trump won’t take such concerns seriously because he is so focused on the power he wields today with little thought toward consequences for others.
On Tuesday, Trump said because he is the president he “has the power to do anything,” but having the power doesn’t mean he should use it. In the case of the Federal Reserve, the risks are too big.
David Mastio is a national opinion columnist for McClatchy and The Kansas City Star.
This story was originally published August 27, 2025 at 11:35 AM with the headline "Trump hypocrisy No. 23,520: Accusing Fed governor of same thing he did himself | Opinion."
