President Donald Trump called Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell a “numbskull” for refusing the president’s requests that he drop interest rates.
Trump, who has often clashed with Powell during his second term, went on a long rant that saw him attack the Princeton-educated banker’s intelligence and decision-making.
At one point, Trump floated firing Powell if he doesn’t acquiesce—a threat Trump has previously made but which the Supreme Court has signaled would be illegal.
“The fake news is saying, ‘Oh, if you fired him, it would be so bad,’” Trump said while signing a bill at the White House Thursday. “I don’t know why it would be so bad, but I’m not going to fire him.”
Trump’s ire at Powell seemed to be reignited by positive May inflation numbers, showing just a slight increase—despite previous concerns that Trump’s sweeping tariffs will send inflation surging.
“We have inflation under control perfectly,” Trump said. “You probably saw the records. Everyone’s on television saying, ‘What’s going on here? Trump was proven to be right.’”
Moody’s chief economist, Mark Zandi, told CNBC that it was a “very good report,” but predicted that it was “the calm before the inflation storm.”
Trump, however, took it as a sign that Powell—whom he nominated to lead the Fed in 2017—ought to start doing his bidding.
“All he has to do is lower it,” the president said. “Europe’s done 10 lowerings. We’ve done none. And nobody understands it.”
Powell has said that the Fed has not lowered rates out of concerns that doing so could spark inflation.
Trump claimed that the U.S. would lose out on $600 billion a year “because of one numbskull”—referring to Powell—if he refused to lower rates.
Back in April, the president had railed against Powell, whom he branded a “major loser,” for refusing to preemptively cut rates soon after Trump launched his most extreme tariff plan, which he later backed off from.
Despite the persistent pressure from Trump, the Fed has said it “will set monetary policy, as required by law, to support maximum employment and stable prices and will make those decisions based solely on careful, objective, and non-political analysis.”
Powell’s term at the Fed ends in 2026, and Trump’s treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, has emerged as a leading contender to succeed him.
The post Trump Fires Off Brutal Insult at Fed Chair for Defying Him appeared first on The Daily Beast.
