Donald Trump says he won't predict trade deal with china; urges US Fed to lower interest rates

The Fed raised interest rates four times last year, and Trump has been a vocal and strident critic of the rate hikes under Jerome Powell, whom the president picked two years ago to chair the US central bank. Trump's other Fed appointees have also supported the rate hikes.

On Thursday, Trump said he plans to nominate his political ally Herman Cain, the former head of Godfather's Pizza, to one of two vacancies on the Fed's seven-member Board of Governors.

Two weeks ago, Trump said he would nominate conservative economic commentator Stephen Moore to the other vacant seat on the Fed's board. Moore is also a longtime Trump ally who has joined him in criticizing last year's rate hikes.

Trump said he will not attend the annual dinner of the White House Correspondents Association once again, calling the event too negative.

It will be the third year in a row that the president has taken a pass on the dinner, to be held on April 27 at a Washington hotel.

Trump has had a rocky relationship with the White House press corps, which he frequently accuses of being biased. Still, he takes questions from reporters nearly every day.

He told reporters on the White House South Lawn that he would hold a political rally instead of going to the dinner.

"I’m going to hold a rally, because the dinner is so boring and so negative that we’re going to hold a very positive rally," he said.

He said the rally would be at one of three sites being considered.

"It'll be a big one, but the correspondents dinner is too negative. I like positive things," he said.