History shows us that leaning on the Federal Reserve to cut rates isn't exactly new territory for U.S. presidents. Trump's doing it now, but he's hardly the first. Nixon and LBJ both pursued similar agendas—they just kept it quiet. Behind closed doors, out of the public eye, the deals got made.

Here's the twist: Trump's playing it differently. He's doing this in the open, airing the debate publicly. Sounds bold, right? But there's a catch. Going public with central bank pressure carries real risks. When you make the fight visible, you risk undermining the Fed's independence narrative—and the market notices. Credibility matters. The moment people start seeing the presidency as directly manipulating monetary policy, confidence gets shaky.

The playbook changed. Nixon and LBJ understood optics. They handled it quietly, preserved the appearance of Fed autonomy even as they were pulling strings behind the scenes. Trump's approach? It challenges that old gentlemen's agreement. Whether that gambit pays off or blows up in his face could reshape how future presidents approach the central bank.