Trump Reportedly Wants The Fed To Stop Raising Rates – And Says Growth Can Solve The Debt Problem

Trump told TIME that higher rates are making it harder to reduce the federal debt, while arguing that economic growth and a broad investment boom can offset the drag from borrowing costs.

• Trump said an eventual Iran deal could bring oil prices down and pointed to rising oil flows from Venezuela.
• Tariffs are encouraging manufacturers to build more plants in the U.S. to avoid import costs. 
• On AI safety, Trump said companies must be responsible for their technology while warning that excessive regulation could “put you out of business.”

President Donald Trump said the Federal Reserve should not raise interest rates again this year, escalating his criticism of borrowing costs even as he argued the U.S. economy is strong enough to keep expanding through them.

In an interview with TIME, Trump said that the U.S. “should be the lowest interest rate in the world.” 

The Fed raised its benchmark rate by a quarter percentage point in September to 3.75%-4.00%, saying inflation remained elevated even as economic activity expanded at a solid pace. 

Softer-than-expected August inflation data released this week have since reduced market expectations for another increase in October. The next FOMC meeting is scheduled for October 27 - 28. 

Trump has repeatedly called for lower rates. In September, he said, “interest ‌rates in the United States should be 1%, or less”— even as Fed officials continued to reiterate the need to balance economic growth with inflation.

Trump Says Growth Can Help Pay Down Debt

Trump tied the rate debate to the federal debt, arguing that higher interest costs make the burden harder to reduce. “The one thing that you can do is pay it off through growth,” he told TIME, adding that the U.S. had “never had growth like this.”

He also rejected the suggestion that AI alone is driving the expansion, pointing instead to investment in automobile plants, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and other industries. “It’s not just AI,” Trump said.

He reportedly framed tariffs as a driver of domestic investment, saying manufacturers were building more plants in the U.S. to avoid the added cost of importing goods. “You know why they’re coming back? Because they don’t want to pay tariffs,” he said.

Trump: AI Is ‘Bigger’ Than The Internet

On AI itself, Trump struck an expansive tone, describing the industry as “the industrial revolution, but bigger” and “the internet, but much bigger.” He said he does not want the U.S. to “turn it off,” citing the amount of money flowing into the sector.

He also defended building more data centers domestically, arguing that “if we don’t build them, they’ll be built someplace else,” and specifically pointed to competition with China for that infrastructure.

Trump Leaves Door Open To Government Stakes In OpenAI, Anthropic 

TIME also asked whether the government could pursue Intel-style equity stakes in frontier AI companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic. “I might. Maybe I could do that,” Trump replied. 

That exchange followed Trump’s description of the government’s Intel stake, which he presented as an example of seeking an ownership interest when the U.S. helps a company resolve a problem. He separately rejected the idea of nationalizing frontier AI labs.

Trump Says Iran Deal Could Bring Oil Prices Down

Trump also spoke about the impact of geopolitical developments on energy prices, saying more barrels had moved through the Strait of Hormuz the previous night than at any point before and arguing that an eventual deal with Iran would bring oil prices back down. 

He told TIME that major oil companies, including Exxon (XOM) and Chevron (CVX), were moving into Venezuela as the U.S. increased oil flows and looked to refill strategic reserves.

U.S. Stock Futures Mixed Ahead Of Thursday Session

U.S. stock futures were mixed on Thursday. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures edged up about 26 points, while S&P 500 futures gained 0.36% and Nasdaq-100 futures advanced 0.8%.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500, remained ‘extremely bullish.’ Sentiment for the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), which tracks the Nasdaq-100, stayed ‘bullish.’

See Also: Evercore’s Julian Emanuel Reportedly Says AI Isn’t Immune To Cost Of Capital — $1T-Plus IPO Could Be Key To Trade

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