Trump Dismisses 50-Year Mortgage Concerns: ‘It’s Not Even a Big Deal’

The president says longer loan terms would simply mean smaller payments as his administration develops a plan to expand mortgage options.

Townhouse for sale in Elkridge, Md., on Sept. 27, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

President Donald Trump on Monday played down criticism over his plan to introduce 50-year mortgages, telling Fox News host Laura Ingraham, “it’s not even a big deal.”

During an appearance on Fox’s “Ingraham Angle,” Trump fielded questions from Ingraham about a host of issues, including the economy and backlash against a plan to introduce 50-year mortgages.

Trump said, “It was not even a big deal,” when Ingraham asked the president if 50-year mortgages were really a good idea.

“All it means is you pay less per month,” Trump said. “You pay it over a longer period of time. It’s not like a big factor. It might help a little bit.”

Trump first floated the idea of expanding mortgage options for Americans in a Truth Social post on Nov. 8.

William Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, confirmed in an X post that same day that the Trump administration is working on a proposal to offer 50-year mortgages to help young people buy homes.

Pulte added that the Trump administration is working on ways to give relief to people with a 5-year mortgage, a 10-year mortgage, and a 15-year mortgage. Fixed-rate mortgages are usually for a term of 15–30 years.

Trump told Ingraham that former President Joe Biden created the problem in the first place.

“He increased the interest rates,“ Trump said, and also mentioned his displeasure with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, ”who’s going to be gone in a few months.” Trump then said that once a new Fed chairman is in place, he would ensure interest rates are lowered.

“But even with interest rates up, the economy is the strongest it’s ever been,” the president said, noting that energy prices and interest rates were both down.

Ingraham also pressed Trump on broader economic concerns, including housing prices.

U.S. house prices rose by 2.3 percent from August 2024 to August 2025, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s seasonally adjusted monthly House Price Index.

Over the past year, all regions across the country rose, except for the Pacific, which saw a 0.6 percent drop in home prices.

According to a Nov. 7 Redfin survey, 7 percent of Americans reported missing a mortgage payment in the past three months, while 14 percent of survey respondents said they will miss or be late on a payment in the next three months.

‘Greatest Economy’ Largely Due to Tariffs

During the interview, the president also defended his use of tariffs.

“We have the greatest economy we’ve ever had,” Trump said. “We will have over $20 trillion come into our economy, and it’s largely because of my election, but it’s also largely because of tariffs.”

Trump reiterated that it would be a “disaster” for the United States if the Supreme Court blocked his tariff regime in an ongoing case. If it had not been for tariffs, Trump said he would not have been able to strike a deal on rare-earth magnets with China.

“If you don’t have a magnet, you don’t make a car, you don’t make a computer, you don’t make televisions and radios and all the other things,” the president said. “You don’t make anything. It’s a 30-year effort to monopolize a very important thing. Now, within two years, we'll have magnets, all the magnets we want.”

He said that without such a deal, the country—and the world—would face a depression.

Trump dispelled the notion that the United States is dependent on China.

“We’re not dependent on China, we’re dependent on having a smart president,” he said. “If we have a smart president, we’re going to have no trouble.”

Jacki Thrapp contributed to this report.