US President Donald J. Trump declares a national emergency due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, in the Rose Garden of the White House, in Washington, DC, United States on March 13, 2020.
Yasin Ozturk | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
President Donald Trump applauded the Federal Reserve’s move to slash interest rates because of the coronavirus pandemic slowing down the economy and wreaking havoc on the financial markets.
“It makes me very happy,” Trump said Sunday evening from a press conference on the coronavirus at the White House. “I want to congratulate the Federal Reserve…They did it in one step… I think that people in the markets should be very thrilled.”
The central bank on Sunday cut rates by 125 basis points to a target range of 0 to 0.25% and launched a massive $700 billion quantitative easing program to offset the negative impact from the coronavirus.
“The coronavirus outbreak has harmed communities and disrupted economic activity in many countries, including the United States,” the Fed said in a statement.
The Fed also slashed the rate of emergency lending at the discount window for banks by 125 bps to 0.25%, and lengthened the term of loans to 90 days.
The stock market tumbled into a bear market, or down more than 20% from their recent highs, last week as the coronavirus outbreak disrupted global supply chains and fueled fears of a recession.
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"It makes me very happy," Trump said Sunday evening. "I think that people in the markets should be very thrilled."