President Donald Trump spent months demanding lower interest rates and attacking Federal Reserve leadership that would not obey him. On Wednesday, the central bank delivered the opposite result, unanimously voting to raise rates as it confronted persistent inflation.

Trump had tried to fire former Fed Chair Jerome Powell, including by threatening criminal charges if Powell refused to step aside. The pressure campaign centered on Powell’s refusal to lower rates simply because Trump demanded it.

When Powell’s term expired in May, Trump nominated Kevin Warsh, a Republican loyalist whom he expected would deliver the cuts he wanted. That expectation ran straight into the Federal Reserve’s unanimous decision.

Every member of the board, including Warsh, voted for the increase. The move was intended to combat inflation created by Trump’s own policies, leaving his chosen chair on the same side as every other board member.

Warsh sought to emphasize economic strength while explaining the decision: “The economy has strengthened. It’s a judgement I have and the committee has,” Warsh said during a news conference.

Then came the part Trump and the GOP definitely did not want to hear: “The plain fact is that inflation is too high and has been for too long.”

That warning lands as Republicans approach midterm elections that are slipping away while voters revolt against skyrocketing gas prices and the cost of living. A unanimous rate increase hardly supports Trump’s insistence that the country is simply booming.

Before the decision, Trump had threatened to suspend trade with countries with which the United States has a deficit unless the central bank lowered rates. It was an extraordinary attempt to force the Federal Reserve into giving him what he wanted.

Trump wrote on Truth Social: “LOWER THE RATE OR I’LL STOP TRADING WITH COUNTRIES WITH WHICH WE HAVE A DEFICIT, which the U.S. Supreme Court, in its ridiculous and very costly Tariff decision, strongly acknowledged ‘the President’ has an absolute right to do.”

He followed with another burst of digital shouting: “IT’S BETTER THAN TARIFFS!” Trump also demanded that the board get smart, called on its members to be patriots and complained that high interest rates placed the United States at an unfair disadvantage.

Suspending trade with the country’s biggest trading partners would crash the United States economy, making the threat look like another serving of Trump’s usual empty bluster. After Wednesday’s meeting, he did not follow through.

Instead, Trump whined about the decision on Truth Social: “Interest Rates in the United States should be 1%, or less, because we are the Best Credit in the World — BY FAR.”

He also claimed the country was booming with new investment and said ending trade with countries running a deficit with the United States would produce at least 1.5 trillion dollars annually. Trump then pivoted to boasting that the United States carries other countries economically.

“The word ‘Deficit’ is nothing more than a fancy word for LOSS,” Trump wrote. He insisted that carrying other countries could not continue and again demanded that interest rates be lowered quickly.

Warsh declined to engage with Trump’s apparent attempt to strong arm the central bank through threats of economic destruction. His response instead stressed the Federal Reserve’s independence and the boundaries surrounding its work.

“Part of the independence of the Federal Reserve is we stay in our lane. Independence is a two-way street,” Warsh said.

He then offered a pointed reminder for the White House: “We’ll let people that do trade policy and fiscal policy stay in their lane too.”

Americans are left legitimately worrying that Trump might damage the economy because an independent institution refused his demands. That fear, combined with anger over gas prices and living costs, is why the article argues that the GOP is headed for major midterm losses.