Despite President Donald Trump escalating his rhetoric to label high credit card rates as illegal, veteran strategist Ed Yardeni is brushing off the threat of a mandatory 10% cap as political noise that is unlikely to become law.

The ‘Trial Balloon’ Theory

On CNBC Monday, Yardeni addressed the notable decline in major bank stocks like JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) and Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE:COF).

The drop followed President Trump's severe ultimatum that credit card issuers must lower rates to 10% by the Jan. 20 inaugural anniversary or face consequences for “violation of the law.”

Yardeni dismissed the threat as merely one of many administration “trial balloons” designed to test public reaction. He argued that enforcing such a cap would require congressional legislation—not just executive action—and predicted powerful banking lobbyists would ensure it never passes.

“Like this administration puts out a lot of trial balloons and sees which ones make it up into the ...