On April 22, Nick Timiraos, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal known as the mouthpiece of the Federal Reserve, issued an article saying that US President Trump sent a signal that if his trade war led to economic weakness and the Federal Reserve did not cut interest rates soon, he would blame the Fed. In the process, he also appears to be trying to undermine the legitimacy of this historically independent institution, potentially affecting its effectiveness. In a social media post on Monday, Trump repeated last week's request, urging the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates immediately. He said: There is almost no inflation. And attacked Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell as Mr. Too Late and a Big Loser. He also accused the Federal Reserve of cutting interest rates last fall to influence the 2024 U.S. election.