Bernie Sanders says Trump is right about banks ‘ripping off Americans’ with high credit card rates

WASHINGTON, DC: Senator Bernie Sanders said President Donald Trump is ‘right’ to criticize big banks for charging high credit card interest rates, highlighting a rare point of agreement between the progressive Democrat and the Republican president on a major economic issue.

Sanders made the remarks in in an opinion piece this week by Fox News, arguing that outrageously high credit card interest rates are hurting millions of Americans and that federal intervention is necessary to protect consumers from mounting debt.

Bernie Sanders calls for federal limits on interest rates

Sanders renewed his long-standing push for the federal government to set strict limits on credit card interest rates, saying the free market has failed to protect borrowers from excessive costs.

He argued that allowing banks to set rates without firm caps has left many Americans trapped in cycles of debt, particularly families that rely on credit cards to cover basic expenses and emergencies.

Putting a cap on interest rates, Sanders said, would offer real and immediate relief to households that carry balances month after month.

“We need to cap interest rates on credit cards at 10 percent,” Sanders wrote, adding that such a limit would protect consumers while still allowing responsible lending practices to continue.

Sanders acknowledged that Trump has proposed a 10 percent cap on credit card interest rates but criticized the idea for being temporary.

“Trump has proposed to cap credit card interest rates at 10%. That is a good idea,” Sanders wrote. “The problem is that his proposal would only last for one year and, in many instances, would end up costing consumers even more than they are paying right now.”

He added that the issue itself deserved bipartisan attention, regardless of political divisions.

“But, I have to admit, there is one issue that Trump has identified that does make sense,” Sanders said. “He is right when he says that big banks are ripping off the American people with outrageously high credit card interest rates.”

Bernie Sanders links high interest rates to inequality

Sanders placed the credit card debate within what he described as growing economic inequality in the United States.

“We live in a nation of unprecedented wealth and income inequality, where a handful of billionaires are getting much richer while the working class falls further and further behind,” he wrote.

He said high interest rates hit lower-income Americans the hardest, particularly those who rely on credit cards when unexpected expenses arise. Without limits, interest charges can snowball, making it harder for borrowers to ever escape debt.

Sanders also criticized Trump’s recent comments on affordability, pointing to the president’s appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on January 21.

“Is there anyone left in America who does not understand that Trump’s concern about ‘affordability’ is nothing more than a flailing attempt to shore up his rapidly declining poll numbers?” Sanders wrote.

He argued that while working-class Americans face punishing interest rates, Wall Street banks and their executives continue to profit.

Despite his sharp criticism of Trump on broader economic policy, Sanders said the issue of credit card interest rates should force Congress to act.

He urged lawmakers to consider legislation that would impose a national interest rate cap and strengthen consumer protections to rein in what he described as predatory lending practices.