President Donald Trump has suggested his late-night demands on social media are as good as law.
Following accusations that the billionaire president is out of touch with regular Americans facing high costs and a poor jobs market, Trump has stopped calling the affordability crisis a “hoax” and started trying to position himself as a champion for working Americans.
On Friday, he demanded on his Truth Social platform that credit card companies cap their interest rates for a year starting Jan. 20.
“Please be informed that we will no longer let the American Public be ‘ripped off’ by Credit Card Companies that are charging Interest Rates of 20 to 30%, and even more, which festered unimpeded during the Sleepy Joe Biden Administration,” he wrote. “AFFORDABILITY! Effective January 20, 2026, I, as President of the United States, am calling for a one year cap on Credit Card Interest Rates of 10%.”
But when asked just two days later what would happen if credit card companies didn’t comply by Jan. 20, the president seemed to think the request had been codified into law.
“Well, then they’re in violation of the law. Very severe things,” he told a reporter aboard Air Force One on Sunday.
The reporter followed up by asking if a congressional law had been passed.
“No, I want a cap on credit card interest rates because you know some of them are 28, almost 30 percent,” Trump said. “And people don’t know they’re paying 30 percent. The people out there, you know, they’re working, and they have no idea they’re paying 30 percent. No way.”
He didn’t explain how the credit card companies would be breaking the law if no such law had been passed. The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have tried to pass bills that would lower credit card interest rates, which surged above 20 percent in late 2022, according to the personal finance company WalletHub.
They’ve encountered fierce resistance from the banking industry, which earns billions of dollars annually from their credit card business, Bloomberg reported.
Industry groups responded to Trump’s Truth Social post with a joint statement pushing back on the president’s plan.
“We share the president’s goal of helping Americans access more affordable credit,” the Consumer Bankers Association and other groups said in a joint statement. “At the same time, evidence shows that a 10% interest rate cap would reduce credit availability and be devastating for millions of American families and small business owners who rely on and value their credit cards, the very consumers this proposal intends to help.”
Following Trump’s comments on Sunday, shares in U.S. banks fell in premarket trading on Monday, with JPMorgan Chase down 3.2 percent and Bank of America falling 2.5 percent, the BBC reported.
Credit card firms also took a hit, with American Express falling 4 percent, Visa dropping by 1.2 percent, and Mastercard dipping 2 percent.
The post Trump, 79, Confuses His Truth Social Rant With the Law appeared first on The Daily Beast.
