Trump Defends 50-Year Mortgage Plan, Calling It ‘Not a Big Deal’

President Donald Trump downplayed criticism of the potential creation of a 50-year mortgage product, saying it would help more Americans afford monthly payments on homes.

“It’s not even a big deal,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News that aired on Monday. “All it means is you pay less per month. You pay it over a longer period of time. It’s not like a big factor.”

Extending the length of a mortgage to 50 years from the standard 30-year period would reduce monthly payments for borrowers, but it would also mean buyers build equity much more slowly and would ...