Presidents have long criticized the Federal Reserve. It usually backfires.

For more than 70 years, presidents have tried to sway the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates low. Others, from Harry S. Truman to George H.W. Bush, saw their public pressure backfire or simply fail to land. A senior White House official, Kevin Hassett, also had amplified the president's displeasure with the Fed leader, telling reporters that Trump was studying…