Trump’s speech is beamed to a monitor above the bar in the “Sound Board” auditorium in the MotorCity Casino Hotel in Detroit.
On Saturday, the Detroit Economic Club announced it would host President Trump as the White House prepares for major addresses in Davos and the at the state of the union. On Sunday, our friends at the New York Times scooped that federal prosecutors were investing Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell over the central bank’s headquarters renovation.
Which is how I found myself Tuesday in the basement of the MotorCity Casino Hotel in listening to Trump go on and off prepared remarks for more than an hour. If you think a casino ordinarily lacks windows, there are somehow fewer in the casino in Detroit.
So what did I learn about Trump? Here’s a list:
He’s still uncomfortable talking about cost-of-living issues.
During Trump’s first stop on his economic tour, he said affordability was “a hoax.” On Tuesday, he said it was “a fake word.”
Affordability was all my cab driver wanted to talk about when he heard Trump was coming to town. “Why if gas prices are coming down is everything else so expensive?” he asked me. “Why is all he [Trump] talks about gas prices?”
And, yeah — gas prices were the main affordability metric Trump talked about in his remarks. My cabbie was listening.
He’s emboldened in his battle with the Fed.
Trump called Powell a “stiff” and a “jerk” while veering off his teleprompter.
It’s not super unusual for presidents to battle with the Fed, but this is different, even if he truly had and has no knowledge of prosecutors inquiry into Powell.
There is no indication of impropriety surrounding the Fed’s headquarters renovation or Powell’s activity.
Trump spoke directly about what he wants in a future Fed chair in a way that is, frankly, deterministic. He doesn’t so much appear to care who the chair is, as long as interest rates are low.
“In the old days, when you had good numbers, interest rates would go down. When you had good numbers, the market would go through the roof,” Trump said. “That’s the way we’re going to make it again. That’s the old-fashioned way. That’s the right way.
@jacobbogage President Trump’s latest slugfest against the Federal Reserve — and why it matters — live from Detroit. #fyp #maga #trump
He’s doubling down on immigration.
Trump said his administration would cut off federal funding to so-called “sanctuary cities” effective Feb. 1.
That would be a tremendous escalation — there are sanctuary cities that cover swing districts, too — and he did not elaborate on any details.
In the days since, he threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minneapolis to put down largely peaceful protests.
In sum, that means I didn’t learn a tremendous amount — this was a largely political speech about an area where he continues to feel some discomfort. And voters’ attitudes are reflecting that.
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