Posted on 02/20/2026 7:44:50 AM PST by Miami Rebel
President Donald Trump raged over some disappointing economic news shortly before his Commerce Department delivered it to the public on Friday morning.
“The Democrat Shutdown cost the U.S.A. at least two points in GDP. That’s why they are doing it, in mini form, again. No Shutdowns!” declared the president in a 7:50 a.m. Truth Social post.
“Also, LOWER INTEREST RATES. ‘Two Late’ Powell is the WORST!!!,” he added.
Less than an hour later, his administration announced that the United States’ GDP grew at an annualized rate of 1.4% in the fourth quarter of 2025. The 43-day government shutdown last fall was expected to affect the figure, but experts at Dow Jones nevertheless expected the economy to grow at a yearly clip of 2.5%.
Trump has spent the entirety of his second term laying into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell for failing to lower interest rates as quickly as Trump had advocated, and his Department of Justice has even launched a criminal investigation into Powell ahead of his term’s expiration as chairman in May. Powell has called that investigation a pretext.
“The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president,” he argued in a video statement last month. “This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions—or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation.”
This month’s GDP news comes after an encouraging inflation report, but amid widespread discontent with the economy among the public.
Wonder if Thomas’s phone is ringing?
Not sure that the GDP number is out of line given the government shutdown.
It’s not “the Democrats” - they’re just being themselves, doing what they do, trying to destroy America.
It’s the FREAKING REPUBLICANS who sell us all down the river EVERY. FREAKING. TIME.
They all need to be replaced.
He probably tackled a Secret Service agent, wrestled his gun away, and started shooting everyone in sight.
The title is wrong too. Powell not economy worst.
I don’t think we’ve ever seen Trump violently angry, or heard any stories of him being. He always seems to stay on an even keel no matter what happens -July 13, 2024 a case in point.
"They Live"
Gold standard... F@@@ Breton Woods.
Trumper Start printing real money.
what would US interest rate be if tied to a gold based dollar
If the U.S. dollar were tied to a gold standard, interest rates would no longer be set by the Federal Reserve as a policy tool. Instead, they would be determined by market forces based on the supply and demand for credit, with the money supply automatically adjusting to changes in gold holdings.
Under a gold standard:
The money supply is rigidly tied to the amount of gold held by the government, meaning the central bank cannot create money through quantitative easing or other monetary expansions.
Interest rates would be less volatile because they would reflect the real economic conditions and the scarcity of gold, rather than discretionary policy decisions.
Nominal interest rates would be influenced by the rate of return on gold, which earns no interest, but the real rate of return would depend on inflation and the opportunity cost of holding gold versus other assets.
Historically, the gold standard provided fixed exchange rates and reduced uncertainty in international trade, but it also limited the government’s ability to respond to economic downturns with monetary stimulus. In such a system, interest rates would naturally settle at levels that balance savings and investment, constrained by the physical availability of gold.
The empire strikes back
Yeah. He “raged” all the way to putting on a 10% across the board tariff to give the SC a public wedgie.
Yeah, the PCE number is what the investor-me is thinking more about.
GDP is such a heavy-hammer, brute-force instrument that it’s really just a “bragging rights” metric used for politics (though, missing the consensus by a full 1% is concerning).
...but that PCE number remains stubbornly high.
Yeah, that’s sure not to get tossed out.
If you heard the speech you would know that Trump has many other options already at his disposal. So no, it won’t get tossed out under this current decision. If they want to spend more money and time, they can petition the court to try and toss out the latest tariffs, but now they have to start from scratch.
My biz is doing well after a decade of Biden
You idiot TDSer.. he was FAR from “raging”...
Watch his press conference.
I’m celebrating rager day. seems to be a trend.
There is a decrease in federal spending so it’s actually good news to me.
If there were better alternatives, the Administration would have used them first, rather held them in reserve as Plan B. I think any end-around will be blocked by a lower court.
The Democrat Shutdown cost the U.S.A. at least two points in GDP. That’s why they are doing it, in mini form, again.
The obstructionists must like ass kickings they do everything they can to get one.
Isn’t this the third story, none of which is related to the others, within the last one or two days with “Trump” and “rage” in the headline?
I guess they all got the memo.
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