Eleven central bank governors from around the world have issued a rare joint statement expressing their support for Jerome Powell, the Chair of the US Federal Reserve. This show of solidarity comes as former President Donald Trump launches a legal and rhetorical assault on the independent institution, attempting to blame it for America's deepening cost-of-living crisis.
The Affordability Blame Game
Political observers view Trump's aggressive campaign against Powell and the Fed as a calculated distraction. With crucial congressional midterm elections approaching, the former president is seeking to shift blame for rising borrowing costs away from his own party's legislative record. Despite Republican control of the presidency, Senate, and House for a period, their major achievement was a substantial tax cut largely benefiting wealthy Americans.
They failed to pass meaningful legislation on critical affordability issues such as housing supply, childcare, healthcare costs, or wage growth. In many cases, their actions have actively worsened the financial pressure on households. A prime example is the deferral of action on health insurance, leaving millions facing sharp premium increases.
From 'Hoax' to 'Affordability President'
Trump's recent pivot on the issue has been stark. Having previously dismissed the affordability crisis as a Democratic "hoax," he now proclaims himself the "AFFORDABILITY PRESIDENT." This reversal is seen as pure political opportunism, coinciding with polls showing the erosion of his support as grocery bills and living costs bite into household budgets.
The tangible impact of his earlier policies is significant. Analysis suggests his tariffs, coupled with weaker-than-expected wage growth and elevated prices, resulted in an estimated 3% hit to median household spending power. According to calculations by Thomas Edsall in the New York Times, the average American household lost approximately $2,250 in spending power in 2025.
Theatrical Policy vs. Concrete Action
Critics argue Trump's economic approach is defined by theatrical announcements that gesture at confronting corporate power but lack substantive follow-through. His headline-grabbing promise to ban institutional investors from buying single-family homes lacked detailed legislation, enforcement mechanisms, or challenges to the tax privileges driving real-estate consolidation.
In practice, his administration often empowered the interests it claimed to oppose. It settled antitrust cases, throttled funding for consumer protection agencies, and expanded real-estate tax breaks. A telling example is an environmental directive instructing the Environmental Protection Agency to stop counting the health benefits of clean air, a move that lowers costs for polluters while passing the burden of illness and shorter lifespans to the public.
The unified support from global central bankers for Powell underscores the international concern over political interference in monetary policy. It highlights a central tension: while Trump trades in symbolic hostility toward corporate excess, his policies frequently entrench it, leaving affordability out of reach for ordinary Americans and necessitating a continual search for scapegoats, from the Fed to political opponents.
