Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has been trying to guide the economy to a "soft landing." After inflation spiked in 2022 following pandemic stimulus and supply chain crunches, the central bank raised interest rates to bring inflation down.

A trade war ties the Fed’s hands by pushing up inflation at the same time that uncertainty is sapping growth.

The last thing U.S. markets need right now is a war of words between the White House and the Federal Reserve, yet they may have to brace for increasingly testy exchanges over the days and weeks ahead.