What does Trump really want from the Federal Reserve?

Why has Donald Trump consistently attacked the Federal Reserve and its chair Jerome Powell? And was the US central bank ever truly "independent"? Geopolitical economist Radhika Desai discusses with economist Michael Hudson. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Fcwg6eFGu4 This is part of the program Geopolitical Economy Hour. You can watch other episodes of the show here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hMl9DkPLikDDGccibhYHnDP Radhika's website: https://RadhikaDesai.com Michael's website: https://Michael-Hudson.com

Donald Trump is imposing tariffs and unequal treaties on longtime allies in Europe, Japan, and South Korea, forcing them to pay and move their factories to the US. Meanwhile, BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) are building a new multipolar world order based on mutually beneficial trade and investment. Ben Norton is joined by economist Michael Hudson to discuss. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpYgXMkzWc8 Read Michael's article on Trump's attacks on Europe, Korea, and Japan: https://www.geopoliticaleconomy.report/p/michael-hudson-trump-europe-korea-japan You can support Michael on Patreon at https://Patreon.com/MichaelHudson Topics 0:00 Trump attacks US allies 0:35 Exploitative US deal imposed on Japan 3:04 ICE detains South Korean workers 5:46 Trump to abolish Education Department 6:29 Angering US allies 7:19 US trade deal imposed on Europe 8:37 BRICS & SCO build multipolar order 10:20 Intro to Michael Hudson 10:46 Highlights of Michael Hudson 13:58 Interview starts 15:03 The BRICS alternative 18:54 US strategy of economic colonialism 26:01 Europe 33:06 India and Eurasia 35:15 Trump's tariff trap 37:28 Energy 41:03 Backlash in Europe 43:43 EU did not negotiate 46:48 European capital flows into US 49:40 BRICS sells US Treasuries 53:24 South Korea 56:59 Attacks on immigrants 1:05:37 Class politics 1:11:13 Japan 1:20:08 Latin America 1:21:48 Middle East (West Asia) 1:22:41 Dedollarization 1:24:18 Outro

The US government has waged economic war on Venezuela for years. The Donald Trump administration is escalating this with threats of military intervention. Ben Norton discusses the history of sanctions and US-backed coup attempts against President Nicolás Maduro, explaining why Washington wants to topple this ally of China, Russia, and Iran, so US oil corporations can exploit the South American nation's natural resources. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU17g3DXwiY Check out our related video on how the US government supports drug traffickers in Latin America: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwCducQ8HHw Topics 0:00 US-backed coups in Latin America 1:32 US economic war on Cuba 2:15 Venezuela's alliance with China & Russia 3:12 Dedollarization 4:17 Petrodollar system 5:45 US military threatens Venezuela 7:53 Drug production 8:37 US-backed drug trafficker in Colombia 9:24 US-backed drug trafficker in Ecuador 11:35 Fentanyl 12:52 UN data on drugs 13:39 Marco Rubio opposes international law 14:58 (CLIP) Marco Rubio attacks UN 15:42 "Cartel de los Soles" doesn't exist 16:32 Colombia's President Gustavo Petro 17:27 US-backed coup in Venezuela in 2002 18:53 Guarimbas: coup attempts in 2014 & 2017 19:28 Obama dubs Venezuela "threat" 19:54 US economic war & sanctions 21:16 Oil exports 22:16 US collapses Venezuela's oil industry 23:24 Coup attempt with Juan Guaidó in 2019 24:09 (CLIP) John Bolton boasts of coup 24:59 Trump admin discussed military attacks 26:02 Failed invasion in 2020: Operation Gideon 28:41 Bolivarian Revolution 30:25 Marco Rubio's drug lies 31:46 US bounty on Maduro's head 33:27 Scholar: "Cartel of the Suns" doesn't exist 35:10 US invasion of Panama in 1989 36:19 US turned against Saddam Hussein 36:52 Coup strategy 37:34 US intel debunks Trump admin's drug lies 39:49 Tattoos as "proof" of cartel membership 41:17 Juan Guaidó worked with drug cartels 43:06 Guaidó gang's corruption 43:52 US empire's puppets in Latin America 44:51 Colonialist Monroe Doctrine 45:46 (CLIP) John Bolton on Venezuela's oil 46:53 Trump wants Venezuela's oil 47:52 Goals of US empire 49:16 Outro

US President Donald Trump claimed he would "un-unite" Russia and China, but the divide-and-conquer strategy failed. Instead, Moscow and Beijing are closer than ever, and they are at the heart of a Global South-led movement to build a new multipolar world order, challenging Western hegemony and imperialism. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-bq4347Z18 US attacks blow back, uniting China, India, Russia, Iran; encouraging dedollarization: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsFGCUtzzQ8 Topics 0:00 China and Russia: close partners 0:59 USA fears "near-peer" competitors 1:51 (CLIP) Trump: divide Russia and China 2:06 US divide-and-conquer strategy 2:31 (CLIP) Marco Rubio: "partner with the Russians" 3:04 Marco Rubio, top US war hawk 3:33 (CLIP) Marco Rubio: China is top "threat" 4:16 China and Russia's political ties 5:33 China's trade with Russia 6:28 US and Russia: economic competitors 7:37 Trump doesn't have anything to offer 8:23 Global South leaders meet in China 9:41 USA failed to divide India and China 10:28 China's 80th anniversary WWII victory parade 12:09 Trump laments China-Russia-India ties 13:02 Xi-Putin meeting in Beijing 14:19 USSR and China in WWII 18:21 Dedollarization of China-Russia trade 19:44 Power of Siberia 2 pipeline 21:44 Russia integrates with Eurasia 22:19 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) 22:44 BRICS 23:33 Neocolonial financial system 25:30 Russia deepens ties with Global South 27:34 New multipolar world order 28:37 Outro

The US government has long tried to divide China, India, and Russia, but Washington's aggressive actions have only brought them together. Donald Trump's tariffs, in particular, angered Indian PM Modi, who visited the Chinese city Tianjin for the 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, where the Eurasian countries deepened their relations. Ben Norton analyzes the important results of this historic meeting, and how the US empire's aggression has blown back. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsFGCUtzzQ8 Topics 0:00 US imperial overstretch 1:25 China, Russia, India unite 3:38 Shanghai Cooperation Org (SCO) summit 4:48 Global Governance Initiative 6:50 New multipolar order 8:08 Members of SCO 9:29 Population of SCO 10:07 Economy of SCO 11:01 US empire seeks to divide Eurasia 12:49 Trump attacks India 13:37 Donald Trump's tariffs 14:52 India moves closer to China 16:23 Views India and China share 18:59 Modi meets with Xi Jinping 21:33 US war hawks are furious 22:02 (CLIP) John Bolton on India-China ties 23:20 US war hawks are furious 24:05 (CLIP) Jake Sullivan on India-China ties 25:17 USA alienates its "allies" 25:53 Trump makes China great again (川建国 Chuan Jianguo) 26:50 Trump accelerates US imperial decline 29:09 Dedollarization 30:48 CBDCs 32:42 Dedollarization 33:30 China proposes SCO development bank 33:48 SCO Tianjin Declaration 35:51 Need for UN reform 40:20 Multipolarity 41:07 International financial system 42:53 Xi Jinping's speech 46:43 Open-source artificial intelligence (AI) tech 47:38 Oppose the new cold war 48:15 Global South vision of multipolar world 50:45 Outro

The US government has a long history of supporting corrupt, drug-dealing, right-wing oligarchs in Latin America. The Donald Trump administration is threatening to attack Venezuela, accusing leftist President Nicolás Maduro, without any evidence, of leading a cartel, while Marco Rubio defends Colombia's drug-trafficking former leader Álvaro Uribe. Ben Norton documents Washington's imperial hypocrisy. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwCducQ8HHw Topics 0:00 Hypocritical US meddling in Latin America 1:41 Colombia's ex President Álvaro Uribe 4:52 (CLIP) CIA director: "We lie, cheat, steal" 5:09 Drug cartels linked to Colombian leader 6:49 Paramilitaries linked to Colombian leader 9:16 False positives scandal 11:36 Plan Colombia 12:37 Left-wing President Gustavo Petro 14:55 US interventions in Latin America 15:39 Honduran dictator Juan Orlando Hernández (JOH) 16:48 US-backed coup in Honduras in 2009 18:27 US support for dictators 19:41 Drug trafficking in Honduras 22:36 US foreign policy in Latin America 22:59 CIA-backed Nicaraguan Contras 24:09 Trump admin attacks Venezuela (again) 25:50 Outro

The dominance of the US dollar as the global reserve currency has been gradually declining for years, but Donald Trump's policies could rapidly accelerate de-dollarization and the transition to a more multipolar international financial order, warn even mainstream American economists like Barry Eichengreen and Kenneth Rogoff. Political economist Ben Norton reviews the evidence. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utvD1JiIgCM Our related article - "Trump advisor reveals tariff strategy: Force countries to pay tribute to maintain US empire": https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/04/10/trump-advisor-miran-tariff-pay-us-empire/ Topics 0:00 Dedollarization 0:43 Trump's policies accelerate dedollarization 3:50 Economist Barry Eichengreen 5:25 (CLIP) Barry Eichengreen on dedollarization 6:54 Gradually, and then suddenly 7:49 Erosion of dollar dominance 9:18 Decline of US economy 11:36 Rise of China 12:50 Gold: why central banks keep buying it 15:42 Western sanctions 17:57 List of reasons driving dedollarization 18:42 Trump's tariffs & US trade deficit 20:10 Trump pressures Federal Reserve 22:58 Why Trump wants low interest rates 24:56 US Treasury market volatility 26:03 Fewer foreigners want US government debt 29:32 US economy: a financial house of cards 30:34 High corporate bond yields 32:26 Reasons driving dedollarization 32:56 Inflation 36:31 Trump fires BLS chief 37:40 Mar-a-Lago Accord plans 38:54 (CLIP) Trump economic advisor Stephen Miran 38:59 Plaza Accord redux 40:30 Century bonds: de facto US debt default 44:46 Private investors de-dollarize too 45:25 Post-US dollar world 47:14 Economist Kenneth Rogoff 48:09 Trump's own Nixon shock 48:51 Multipolar financial world 50:46 Outro

How do China's government, political system, and socialist market economy actually work? How does China see democracy, the USA, and Donald Trump's trade war? Renowned Chinese scholar Zhang Weiwei explains the China model in this interview with Ben Norton. VIDEO with subtitles here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkVyYvWezI0 Topics 0:00 Highlights 1:30 Introduction to Zhang Weiwei 1:51 The China model 3:23 Civilization-state 4:13 Meritocracy 5:01 Socialist market economy 7:52 US capitalism vs Chinese socialism 9:36 Foreign investment in China 11:15 How China sees democracy 13:46 How laws are made in China 15:59 Economic planning 16:59 Debate with Francis Fukuyama 20:11 US trade war on China 23:36 Dedollarization of financial system 28:17 The multipolar future 29:36 Outro

One of the main goals of the US political and economic system is to protect corporate monopolies. Silicon Valley Big Tech corporations fear Chinese competitors, so the US government is trying to ban them. Political economist Ben Norton explains how imperialism works, and what drives Washington's Cold War Two against China. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EVwFJ7sM6c Topics 0:00 US government seeks political monopoly 0:51 Billionaire Peter Thiel defends monopolies 2:53 (CLIP) Peter Thiel: "competition is for losers" 3:18 Cold War Two against China 4:49 Uber's monopolistic business model 9:18 Corporate lobbyists & donors 10:02 Trump admin opposes antitrust cases 12:12 Money buys US politics 13:42 Trump backs billionaire Big Tech oligarchs 15:45 Trump green-lights white collar crime 17:35 Trump promotes bribery & corruption 19:30 USA wants to control global infrastructure 20:03 (CLIP) Trump threatens Panama Canal 20:14 BlackRock buys Panama Canal ports 20:36 (CLIP) Trump boasts of BlackRock deal 21:00 Trump helps BlackRock buy up ports 21:58 Second Cold War on China 22:23 US Big Tech targets TikTok 24:14 DeepSeek & Chinese AI competitors 25:00 OpenAI CEO Sam Altman 26:14 US states ban DeepSeek 26:57 Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei 27:29 US AI companies lobby to ban competitors 28:37 Silicon Valley seeks "unipolar world" 30:23 Biden's chip export restrictions on China 31:09 USA seeks to stop China's innovation 31:57 Biden's tariffs on China 33:55 How imperialism works 34:45 Global value chain (division of labor) 36:20 USA wanted China to stay subordinate 37:50 VP JD Vance wants Global South on bottom 38:45 (CLIP) JD Vance on China & value chain 39:30 Industrial policy: Made in China 2025 plan 41:32 China enters commercial aircraft industry 42:14 US politicians lobby to ban China's Comac 43:58 How Boeing was destroyed by finance bros 45:47 How Jack Welch ran GE into the ground 46:39 Boeing attacked unions & skilled labor 47:56 Boeing CEO was Blackstone exec 48:51 Boeing prioritizes stock buybacks, not R&D 50:17 Private equity is "looting America" 51:22 Goal of Washington's new cold war 52:11 Outro

The US government has tried for years to recruit India for its new cold war on China, but Donald Trump's aggressive tariffs have backfired, encouraging New Delhi to improve its relations with Beijing, strengthening unity in BRICS. Political economist Ben Norton explains the complex history of the foreign relations of the US, India, China, and Russia. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BstijDvJT8Y Topics 0:00 Donald Trump's contradictory policies 0:39 (CLIP) Trump threatens BRICS 1:05 Brazil pushes back 1:40 USA tries to use India against China 3:58 Goal of Trump's tariffs on India 5:34 (CLIP) EU chief on US trade deal 5:52 India buys Russian oil 7:46 Europe buys Russian oil - from India 9:10 India's trade surplus with USA 9:48 (CLIP) Trump trade advisor Peter Navarro 9:57 US trade with China 11:18 China restricts rare earth exports 12:03 US trade with India 13:35 India improves relations with China 15:41 Vietnam moves closer to China 16:35 BRICS expands to global majority 17:28 History of US-China relations 19:40 Kissinger's triangular diplomacy 20:47 Kissinger: divide Russia & China 21:21 (CLIP) Trump: divide Russia & China 21:37 Closest Russia-China relations ever 22:30 India-US-China relations 24:07 India: 3rd-largest economy on Earth 25:41 India & Non-Aligned Movement 27:03 India-USSR/Russia relations 28:39 India moves toward USA 29:50 Rise of Narendra Modi, BJP, RSS 31:22 US-India relations grow closer 32:59 Modi allies India with Israel 33:40 Modi: from banned to loved in USA 34:49 Trump's India policy 35:50 India's role in BRICS 37:59 India's foreign policy 38:52 India opposes dedollarization 42:21 BRICS' internal contradictions 45:05 Outro