Lawrence Summers, the former US Treasury secretary, has warned against allowing the president to interfere in monetary policymaking or it will only end up hurting the economy over time. "It's a stupid game to get politicians involved," Mr. Summers said on Friday, "and the end result is higher inflation and a weaker economy." Mr. Summers' comments came a day after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said he believed the president should have some "say" in Federal Reserve policymaking. As for the Fed's policy decision, Summers said any emergency rate cut would be untenable "in terms of current facts" given that market volatility and stock market declines have eased since Monday. Nonetheless, Summers said a 50 basis point rate cut at the September policy meeting may be appropriate.