Trump’s Campaign Against Lisa Cook - How Racism, Misogyny and Lust for Power Shake the Fed

The news struck like a political thunderclap: Donald Trump’s attempt to remove Lisa Cook from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve is such a moment. Not because it is about personnel questions in a central bank, but because it touches the essence of what defines democratic institutions: independence, integrity and the recognition of diversity. See also our article at: https://kaizen-blog.org/en/trumps-obsession-wenn-machtangst-in-rassistische-tiraden-muendet/

Lisa Cook is not just anybody. She is the first Black woman in the 111-year history of the Federal Reserve to be appointed to the distinguished circle of governors - a symbol of what long seemed impossible. Her life story is a textbook of excellence: scientist, adviser on economic issues, a woman who through competence and persistence reached a place from which generations before her had been excluded. And it is precisely she who is now being targeted by a president who sees institutions not as sanctuaries of democracy but as stages of his arbitrariness.

The indictment is crushing. Hakeem Jeffries, leader of the Democrats in the House, speaks of an act without evidence - of an attempt to topple a woman without a single blemish. Officially it is whispered that Cook rented properties to university affiliates and thereby created a conflict of interest. But what is being scandalized here is in truth completely legitimate - nothing more than the normal act of renting property, as millions of Americans do. It is a transparent maneuver, inventing spurious arguments where there is no substance.

The Congressional Black Caucus goes even further and calls the step what it is: a racist, misogynistic and unlawful attack, a breach of taboo in the long history of the central bank. Never before has a president dared to remove a member of this body. Trump has. And in this lies the entire logic of his actions: where others respect boundaries, he sees only walls to be torn down.

But the dimension goes far beyond Lisa Cook. Anyone who tries to politicize the Federal Reserve attacks the nervous system of American democracy. It is not only about an economist, not only about a symbol of Black and female excellence - it is about whether power will in the future be defined through rules or through whims. Trump opts for the latter. What he thereby exposes is nothing less than his authoritarian character, which no longer hides in the shadows but emerges more openly with every step. America does not deserve this attack. Lisa Cook does not deserve it. And yet it has become reality - a reality in which the old specters of racism and misogyny unite with the new lust for breaking the law. Whoever remains silent now becomes complicit. Because it is about more than a seat on the Board of the Federal Reserve. It is about the soul of a republic that must decide whether it still wants to be called a democracy - or only the stage for the power frenzy of a man who despises history and tramples on the dignity of others.

“For the first time in 111 years, a president is planning to fire a sitting governor of the Federal Reserve - and of course it is the first Black woman, Lisa Cook. Trump’s message is clear: When Black women rise, he will do anything to push us back down.” (Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett)

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