The U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis recently released second-quarter GDP data that surprised the market. The data showed that the preliminary annualized quarter-on-quarter real GDP for the second quarter reached 3%, far exceeding the market expectation of 2.4%. This unexpected economic performance immediately sparked attention and discussion from all sides.

After learning about the news, Trump quickly expressed his views on social media. He stated that he was excited about the impressive GDP data and believed that the 3% growth rate far exceeded expectations. At the same time, he once again called on Federal Reserve Chairman Powell to take action and lower interest rates as soon as possible. Trump emphasized that the current inflation pressure is low, and cutting interest rates would benefit the public in purchasing homes and refinancing, thereby further promoting economic development.

In fact, Trump has long advocated for interest rate cuts. He believes that even at the current interest rate levels, the U.S. economy is performing quite well, but if rates could be lowered, the potential for economic growth would be even greater. Trump has even expressed a desire to lower the benchmark interest rate to 1% to reduce the federal government's borrowing costs. To pressure the Federal Reserve, he has repeatedly threatened to replace Powell and recently questioned Powell about the budget overruns for the building renovation project during a visit to the Federal Reserve headquarters.

However, the market's view on interest rate cuts differs from that of Trump. According to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool, the market generally expects that the Federal Reserve will most likely keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged after this monetary policy meeting, with a probability as high as 98% before the Fed announces its interest rate decision.

Multiple institutions predict that economic growth in the United States may weaken in the second half of the year. Although the White House has recently reached a series of trade agreements, the actual tariff levels in the U.S. remain high, with most imported goods not exempt from tariffs, which has somewhat suppressed economic growth. Furthermore, the preliminary quarter-on-quarter real personal consumption expenditure for the second quarter is 1.4%, lower than the expected 1.5%, indicating that actual demand is slowing down.

In the face of Trump's calls for interest rate cuts and differing market expectations, how Federal Reserve Chairman Powell weighs and makes decisions has become the focus of attention from all sides. Whether the improvement in economic data is sufficient to support the current interest rate level, as well as how future economic trends will unfold, will be important factors influencing the Federal Reserve's decisions. Regardless of the final outcome, this discussion surrounding the U.S. economy and monetary policy will undoubtedly have a profound impact on global financial markets.