Trump airs frustrations with Xi and Powell over elusive economic goals

President Donald Trump’s overnight volley of social media posts revealed his frustrations with decision makers whose cooperation he needs to secure some of his top economic objectives.

Early Wednesday morning, Trump pointed to fresh data from private payroll processor ADP showing the weakest monthly jobs total since March 2023 as further evidence that the Federal Reserve should lower interest rates to make borrowing easier for consumers and businesses.

“ADP NUMBER OUT!!! “Too Late” Powell must now LOWER THE RATE. He is unbelievable!!! Europe has lowered NINE TIMES!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. (The European Central Bank has in fact cut interest rates seven times since last June.)

The remarks extend the president’s long-running, unprecedented pressure campaign on the Fed chief, whom he invited to the White House last week and renewed that demand in person. The meeting prompted a terse statement from the central bank emphasizing its independence from political influence.

Trump’s post early Wednesday came after a separate one he posted overnight complaining about his efforts to reach a new trade agreement with China and its president, Xi Jinping.

“I like President XI of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!!!” Trump wrote at 2:17 a.m.

After campaigning on immediate economic relief for U.S. households, Trump has spent his first several months back in the White House attempting to rewrite the rules of global trade in America’s favor. In the process, he and his top officials have sought to check voters’ expectations as the U.S. presses dozens of countries for new trade deals that many have proved less eager to strike as swiftly as the administration has hoped.

Meanwhile, court rulings have gummed up some of the president’s unprecedented tariff agenda, which economists increasingly say could trigger “stagflation” — higher inflation alongside lower growth and higher unemployment.

Trump is also grappling with pushback on his massive agenda bill from Elon Musk — previously his highest-profile and most-well-resourced ally — after the tech titan called the bill a “disgusting abomination” Tuesday. NBC News reported Wednesday that House Speaker Mike Johnson said Trump is “not happy” about Musk’s “180” on his agenda. Trump has not directly commented on Musk’s comments.

The Congressional Budget Office now projects the bill will add $2.4 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years.

Trump has brushed aside the concerns, using the presidential bully pulpit to assign blame to those he perceives as obstacles to his economic agenda — messages that senior administration officials are amplifying.

“The President did say that he believes the Fed chair is making a mistake by not lowering interest rates, which is putting us at an economic disadvantage to China and other countries,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said last week about his meeting with Powell. “The President’s been very vocal about that, both publicly and now I can reveal privately as well.”

Forthcoming economic data may fan the president’s frustrations anew. Analysts expect fresh federal jobs data later this week to show 125,000 U.S. job gains last month, fewer than the 177,000 added in April. That report is due for release Friday morning, a day after the European Central Bank is widely expected to lower rates again when it updates its monetary policy on Thursday.

But Europe’s economic outlook is far more uncertain than that of the United States. Inflation in the Euro area now hovers below the ECB’s target of 2% as the bloc has grown just 0.3% in the first quarter. Typically the economic engine of the region, Germany has contracted for two years in a row and trade tension could make matters worse. In general, E.U. growth has been hit by weaker energy prices, slower wage growth, and a strengthening currency that have all put pressure on business activity.

By contrast, Goldman Sachs expects U.S. GDP to expand by more than 3% in the second quarter.

If Trump has been frustrated so far, he may still hold some cards that allows him to see his agenda through — though it may involve relenting on some key issues. Earlier this week, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller — a Trump appointee — gave an updated view of the current economic landscape.

“As of today, I see downside risks to economic activity and employment and upside risks to inflation in the second half of 2025,” Waller said Monday at a conference in South Korea, “but how these risks evolve is strongly tied to how trade policy evolves.”