President Donald Trump often thirsts over one of his own appointees, according to a source cited in a new report.
The 80-year-old is said to be a big fan of his Federal Reserve Chair, Kevin Warsh, and swoons over his looks after watching him on TV, according to the source, who has been present when the comments were made.
Warsh, 56, is Trump’s reward after a long and bitter campaign to oust his own appointee from his first term, Jerome Powell.
The 6-foot-1 Warsh first caught Trump’s eye when he came to the White House in 2019 to discuss policy. Axios reported that Trump told Warsh, “You’re a really handsome guy.”
He also gushed over him when he appointed Warsh to head the Fed.
“I have known Kevin for a long period of time, and have no doubt that he will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best,” Trump wrote on Truth Social as he announced Warsh’s appointment. “On top of everything else, he is central casting, and he will never let you down.”
It comes according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal that said that Trump has also taken to calling Warsh. He keeps a line of communication open and rings him for counsel on various matters from the rise of AI to the war with Iran.
The direct line marks a break from precedent, and while it is not unheard of for Fed chairs and presidents to meet, it is usually formal and prearranged.
Another source speaking to the Journal said Trump hadn’t broached the topic of interest rates yet, a subject which he had hounded Powell over. His refusal to act as the president wished precipitated their breakdown in relations.
Interest rates are set independently by the central bank to keep politics out of national borrowing costs, despite the chair being an appointee of the president.
Speaking previously to the Journal, Trump said he wanted the Fed chair to consult him on interest rates, boasting, “I’m a smart voice and should be listened to.”
During that December interview, Trump had also said in regard to prior consultation: “Typically, that’s not done anymore. It used to be done routinely. It should be done.”
He’d changed his tune six months later when Warsh was sworn in, saying, “I want Kevin to be totally independent. Don’t look at me, don’t look at anybody. Just do your own thing and do a great job.”
Joe Biden’s interactions with Powell were rare, while Barack Obama and Bill Clinton didn’t put pressure on the Fed chair publicly during their presidencies. Clinton, however, is understood to have liked Alan Greenspan, who sat next to first lady Hillary Clinton during her husband’s first address to Congress.
Like Greenspan, Warsh has announced himself on the D.C. scene, according to the Journal’s reporting. It claims that he had dinner on Tuesday in Georgetown with staunch JD Vance ally and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll.
“President Trump has repeatedly stressed that he is giving Chairman Warsh the space he needs to restore confidence and competence in Fed decision-making,” White House spokesman Kush Desai told the Post. “While the president has his First Amendment right as an American citizen and duty as Commander in Chief to voice his thoughts about the Fed, he has also repeatedly reaffirmed Chairman Warsh and the Fed’s independence.”
Trump’s admiration for Warsh comes after The New York Times reported that Warsh’s father-in-law, Ronald Lauder, was bringing an end to his political spending.
The newspaper cited three sources who said the billionaire GOP donor and Estée Lauder heir had confided in them that his adult children, including Warsh’s wife Jane Lauder, had urged him to cool his political spending in a crucial midterm year, as he cannot afford it as he once could.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for further comment.
