Economics and Politics: the ties that bind us
Jerome H. Powell, right, taking the oath of office as chairman of the Federal Reserve on Monday. Credit: Jim Lo Scalzo/European Pressphoto Agency
Perhaps more than any other president in history, Donald Trump has hitched his wagon to the stock market. As astute followers of the market know, the president has very little impact on the ebbs and flows of the market. In fact, the chair of the Federal Reserve probably has more influence by an order of magnitude. Perhaps its not a coincidence that the recent market tumble coincided with the changing of the Federal Reserve chair.
In either case, now that the market may be in serious correction territory, it will be interesting to see how support for Trump is affected. It’s also been interesting to note that his approval rating was stuck in the high 30s despite strong economic fundamentals. If the market correction continues into the run up of the 2018 midterms, its easy to imagine the public punishing the party of the person who claims to control how the market performs.
