“SOB” bankers slamming President Donald Trump’s suggested credit card interest rate cap are committing “a lie of omission,” White House senior adviser Peter Navarro told Newsmax.
Appearing Thursday on “Rob Schmitt Tonight,” Navarro blasted JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon for warning that Trump’s proposed 10% cap on credit card interest rates would spark economic disaster.
“First of all, there’s a lie of omission there,” Navarro said. “Jamie, I’m talking to you right now. You SOB. You are the biggest beneficiary of interest rates on credit cards that are up to 30%.”
Navarro accused Dimon of pretending to act in the public interest while his bank profits from what he called “usurious” rates that hurt working Americans.
“That guy is a usurious thief that’s hurting the American people,” Navarro said. “He should shut up until those things come down. We don’t need his advice.”
The sharp remarks echoed comments Navarro made earlier Thursday on Bloomberg Radio, where he demanded that Dimon “lower your friggin’ credit card interest rates” and accused major banks of taking advantage of consumers facing record levels of revolving debt.
Americans currently carry more than $1 trillion in credit card debt, with many accounts charging interest rates between 22% and 30%, according to industry data.
With inflation still squeezing household budgets, the White House has framed the president’s proposed one-year, 10% cap as a targeted relief measure for middle- and working-class families.
Host Rob Schmitt noted the staggering cost of compounding interest at today’s rates.
“Do the numbers on that at 25, 30%,” he said. “It’s a tremendous amount.”
“Terrible, right? It’s really sad,” Navarro responded. “The president’s acting on this. We’ve got some things to get these credit card companies to take some responsibility. And we’re not going to let go of this because the American people want this done.”
Dimon and other banking executives have pushed back, arguing that a 10% ceiling would force lenders to tighten credit, particularly for borrowers with lower credit scores.
They warn that such consumers could be driven toward payday lenders and other higher-cost alternatives.
But Navarro dismissed those concerns as self-serving.
The administration has intensified its pressure campaign as Trump seeks to demonstrate that he is confronting affordability issues head-on ahead of the midterm elections. Polls consistently show the economy as voters’ top concern.
“We’re going to work really hard to take people like Jamie Dimon and knock some sense into him,” Navarro said, signaling that the White House intends to continue pressing what it views as predatory lending practices.
