Who’s to Blame for Higher Prices? Trump’s Own Fed Chair Just Pointed a Subtle Finger.

The Slatest Trump is dealing with the consequences of his own actions. So are we. Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images and Getty Images Plus. This story is adapted from the Slatest newsletter. You can sign up here to get it in your inbox every day. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time since 2023. And in remarks to reporters, Donald Trump’s handpicked Fed chair dropped some not-so-subtle hints about why the man who nominated him is at least partly to blame. Let’s dive in. Back up. Why did the Fed raise rates? Because inflation remains stubbornly high. Consumer prices have been running hot for more than five years. After they failed to moderate this summer, the central bank’s voting members unanimously backed today’s quarter-point increase, which sent rates into the 3.75–4 percent range. What did the Fed chair say that implied Trump is to blame? Kevin Warsh, whom Trump nominated to lead the Fed earlier this year, tried to stay positive. He noted that unemployment remains low, argued that the economy remains strong, and dodged questions about whether he plans to speak with Trump. But it wasn’t hard to read between the lines. Warsh repeatedly deployed code words—including “geopolitics,” “hot spots around the world,” and “commodity prices”—that pretty clearly pointed the finger at Trump’s tariffs and war with Iran. How have those things raised prices, again? The Iran war has pushed up gas prices by disrupting key transit points for Middle Eastern oil, while Trump’s trade war has bumped the costs of many imported goods. Inflation, which peaked at over 9 percent annually during Joe Biden’s presidency, had been falling for years by the time Trump took over. As Warsh has argued, other factors—like strong consumer spending—aren’t helping matters. But Trump’s actions were virtually guaranteed to raise prices further. So shouldn’t Trump be welcoming the Fed’s efforts to keep them from going even higher? Americans hate inflation, but the medicine for it can also be hard to stomach. Higher interest rates make it costlier to borrow money, which acts as a brake on spending and economic growth. But making it harder for voters to afford a car or get a job isn’t a political winner in the short term, and Trump is staring down midterm elections that are already poised to be rough on his party. Perhaps for that reason, the president has spent months trying to browbeat the Fed into lowering rates. He launched a sham criminal investigation of the previous chair, tried to fire a Biden appointee over allegations of mortgage fraud, and appointed Warsh in hopes that he’d deliver. Yet despite previously supporting lower rates, Warsh’s remarks made clear that even he thought hiking them was the right move. Is Trump mad? Yes. This afternoon, in a post that didn’t make much sense, he reiterated his belief that interest rates should be 1 percent or less. So what’s next? If anything, rates are likely to go even higher. Fed officials expect inflation to stay elevated until 2029, and most predict another rate hike this year. But those assessments reflect how things stand today. If the war worsens or Trump levies more tariffs, prices could soar. As Warsh likes to say, “Inflation is a choice.” Let’s see if the man who appointed him is listening. Tolga Akdoğan Interest rates aren’t the only thing going up; so are your chances of having a great evening if you heed my colleagues’ recommendations. Slow down your shopping habits: Shein debuted on the Hong Kong stock market earlier this month—and it flopped. What happened? The fast-fashion company became a juggernaut by pumping out a never-ending supply of clothes at super-cheap prices, creating a constant churn of microtrends for consumers to chase. However, Steffi Cao argues, many people are reconsidering how they shop for clothes. She breaks down what this means for Shein. Skip this film: Run Hide Fight: Infidels, the new movie from Ben Shapiro’s Daily Wire, is a Die Hard–style action flick set during a campus protest over the Gaza war. It is even more deranged than you might expect. Rebecca Onion bravely watched the whole thing so you don’t have to. Tune into a smartphone soap opera: Are we entering a new phase of television? On the latest episode of ICYMI, host Kate Lindsay introduces listeners to the phenomenon of vertical microdramas, which are 90-second snippets of content chock-full of some of the most absurd plotlines you’ve ever seen. And they must be protected at all costs. Sink your teeth into this juicy word game: Do you enjoy making words out of a limited selection of letters? (Calling all Scrabble fans looking for something a little different!) Do you like receiving funny little notes from the puzzle writer as you work your way through? Then you’ll love today’s Pears game. OK, time for me to leave you be. Till tomorrow!