Trump news: President explodes in astonishing attack on Federal Reserve and orders US companies to cease trading with China 'immediately'

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Donald Trump has launched an extraordinary attack on the Federal Reserve and its chairman Jerome Powell while seemingly demanding US companies cease trading with China “immediately” as the rival superpower upped the ante in their ongoing trade war by hiking tariffs on $75bn (£61bn) of American goods.

After Mr Powell addressed a central bank symposium in Wyoming and declined to say he would cut interest rates in accordance with the president’s wishes, the commander-in-chief exploded on Twitter and asked who is the “the bigger enemy” of the US, Mr Powell or Chinese premier Xi Jinping.

“Our Country has lost, stupidly, Trillions of Dollars with China over many years,” he ranted, ordering American businesses to seek alternatives to working with China and telling US delivery companies like FedEx and UPS to “SEARCH FOR & REFUSE all deliveries of Fentanyl from China”, blaming Beijing for the US opioid crisis.

Stocks fell sharply on Wall Street after Mr Trump said he would respond to China’s latest tariff increase and called on US companies to consider alternatives to doing business in China.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank more than 300 points after the president made the announcements on Twitter.

The stocks of all three companies the president mentioned also dropped as traders tried to understand what the implications for them were.

Stocks had been wavering between gains and losses earlier after China said it would retaliate against the latest round of tariffs imposed by Washington.

China said Friday that it will also increase import duties on US-made autos and auto parts. The retaliation pulled global markets into negative territory.

Mr Trump’s current economic rating in a new Associated Press poll represents a 5 percentage point drop from the same time last year, but for a president who has struggled to win over a majority of American voters on any issue, the economy represents a relative strength.

Even some Democrats approve: Just 5 per cent of Democrats approve of his job performance overall, but 16 per cent approve of his handling of the economy.

Additional reporting by AP. Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load

Key Points

• Trump explodes at Fed boss, orders US businesses to cease trading with China 
• Beijing slaps tariff hikes on $75bn of American goods as trade war escalates
• Seth Moulton drops out of Democratic 2020 race
• Billionaire Republican donor David Koch dies
• Justice Department under fire over white nationalist blog email

[23 August 2019 19:05 · Chris Riotta]

Nancy Pelosi has called out Donald Trump for effectively profiting off of the presidency by making profits on his hotels while travelling as commander-in-chief: 

[23 August 2019 19:25 · Chris Riotta]

Former Republican Congressman Joe Walsh said Donald Trump was becoming a "big danger to your pocketbook" after the stock market plummeted today following the president's tweets:

[23 August 2019 19:45 · Chris Riotta]

The Pentagon has directed blame at the Trump administration over an apparent resurgence of the terror group ISIS in Syria and Iraq -

[23 August 2019 20:05 · Chris Riotta]

Republicans on Capitol Hill say Donald Trump may be willing to cut Social Security and Medicare if he wins in 2020, reportedly describing the potential move as a “second-term project”. 

Several senators told the New York Times in a report published this week they spoke to the president about reducing the costs of the federal health care and retirement programmes — a move that would likely stir controversy in a presidential election season. 

Republicans have said cutting both programmes is crucial to reducing the nation’s deficit, which has ballooned under Mr Trump thanks, in part, to the GOP tax bill passed in 2017. 

[23 August 2019 20:25 · Chris Riotta]

Donald Trump has suggested the Dow is plunging because of news that Seth Moulton has dropped out of the 2020 presidential race. The president appeared to contradict his own suggestion, however, by appearing to claim that nobody has any idea who Mr Moulton is in the first place: 

[23 August 2019 20:45 · Chris Riotta]

And the now-former 2020 candidate Seth Moulton has made his initial response to Donald Trump's attacks against him -

[23 August 2019 21:05 · Chris Riotta]

The Trump administration is meanwhile continuing with its hard-fought and years-long battle to deny workplace protections for LGBTQ+ workers - 

[23 August 2019 21:25 · Chris Riotta]

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been treated for a tumour on her pancreas, according to a court spokesperson. 

The tumour was determined to be malignant, a spokesperson said, adding that no additional treatment would be required at this time. 

The 86-year-old justice reportedly began radiation treatment for the localized cancerous tumour on 5 August in New York City on an outpatient basis. 

[23 August 2019 21:45 · Chris Riotta]

Two hospitals have denied Donald Trump’s claim doctors “were coming out of operating rooms” to meet him when he travelled to Texas and Ohio to console victims of two mass shootings. 

"At no time did, or would, physicians or staff leave active operating rooms during the presidential visit,” University Medical Center (UMC) spokesperson Ryan Mielke told local TV station KVIA. “Our priority is always patient care."

Mr Mielke’s statement came after the US president, apparently angered by reports some victims refused to meet him earlier this month, lashed out on Wednesday at the media and claimed victims and their families actually “love our president”.