Oct 24, 2018 2 min read

During a campaign rally in Phoenix, Ariz., in 2015, Donald Trump said multiple times, “I went to the Wharton School of Finance. I’m, like, a really smart person.”

His recent criticism of the Federal Reserve and its chief, Jay Powell, would suggest otherwise. He is no academic powerhouse. He lambasted the Fed, calling it “loco” and out of control for raising short-term interest rates, asserting that Powell should be lowering rates since the economy is doing so great.

You don’t have to have a degree in economics to be aghast. Yet, this president has a bachelor of science degree in economics from the Wharton School of Finance, graduating May 20, 1968! Trump has no grasp of how government and its agencies operate. The Fed, since its beginning in 1913, has enjoyed a great deal of autonomy, as it should. To avoid political influence on banking policy, the role of presidents is to appoint a chair and then it’s hands off.

Scarier than he are his bobblehead fans who cheer him on – thankfully a distinct minority. His opponent won 2.87 million more votes in 2016. That should provide us with a sliver of hope that the majority recognizes a demagogue when they see one. In the meantime, we are rudderless.

Rose C. Hess

Bowling Green, Ohio