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Emma Hinchliffe, Joseph Abrams

The president of the San Francisco Fed says she's not worried about a second Trump presidency

(Credit: Stuart Isett/Fortune)

Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Donald Trump creates an all-male ticket, Scarlett Johansson rings the AI alarm, and the president of the San Francisco Fed discusses a possible second Trump presidency. Have a terrific Tuesday!

- Term two. With all eyes on former President Donald Trump this week—from his assassination attempt to his VP pick—the topic of a second Trump presidency naturally came up at Fortune Brainstorm Tech, a gathering of tech industry leaders taking place in Park City, Utah this week. It was a main topic in my conversation yesterday with San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly.

Dedicated Broadsheet readers may remember Daly from her interview earlier this year. She had an unusual rise to the top of U.S. monetary policymaking and economics, from watching her parents struggle through high inflation in the 1970s to first studying at community college. "I’m short, I’m female, I’m gay, and I come from a crooked path background,” is how Daly has described her own distinguishing characteristics.

Yesterday, Daly told me that she's not worried about a second Trump term even though the former president has been hostile toward the Fed in the past.

010 FORTUNE BRAINSTORM TECH 2024 Monday, July 15th, 2024 Park City, Utah 2:35 – 3:00 PM THE BULL, THE BEAR, AND THE BANKER   Utopia or dystopia? The head of the San Francisco Fed shares her outlook on the U.S. economy, thoughts on how tech advancements will affect monetary policy, and predictions on AI’s impact on the labor market.  Mary C. Daly, President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Interviewer: Emma Hinchliffe, FORTUNE  Photograph by Stuart Isett/Fortune

"We've had many times in our history where presidents have wanted a different outcome or political leaders have wanted a different outcome," Daly says. She stays focused on the goals given to the Fed by Congress: price stability and full employment. The Fed is "completely apolitical," she adds.

She is, however, focused on the rest of the country. "The American people are like our shareholders," she says. "We have to earn their trust and their respect by doing great work."

Daly declined to give "time-based guidance" on when the Fed might cut interest rates—the other hot topic of the day.

"We at the Fed do not deal in hypotheticals. We work with the economy we have," she says. "And right now the economy is...slowly moving back to a sustainable pace of growth in the labor market and lower inflation, but we're not there yet."

Stay tuned throughout the week for more from Brainstorm Tech.

Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com

The Broadsheet is Fortune's newsletter for and about the world's most powerful women. Today's edition was curated by Joseph Abrams. Subscribe here.

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