President Donald Trump on Thursday lashed out at Jerome Powell after the Federal Reserve chair warned about the effect tariffs will have on the economy.
"The ECB [European Central Bank] is expected to cut interest rates for the 7th time, and yet, 'Too Late' Jerome Powell of the Fed, who is always TOO LATE AND WRONG, yesterday issued a report which was another, and typical, complete 'mess!'" Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Powell said in remarks to the Economic Club of Chicago on Wednesday that unemployment will likely "go up as the economy slows ... and inflation is likely to go up as tariffs find their way and some part of those tariffs come to be paid by the public."
Mr. Trump’s ire followed remarks by Mr. Powell on Wednesday, when he warned in a speech that the president’s tariffs could create a “challenging scenario” for the central bank by putting its two main goals — stable inflation and a healthy labor market — in tension.
Mr. Powell reiterated that the Fed could afford to be patient with its interest rate decisions until it had more clarity about Mr. Trump’s policies. The Fed chair’s emphasis on the need to ensure that a temporary rise in inflation from tariffs did not become a more persistent problem suggested that the bar for further rate cuts was high.
The president has been pushing for Mr. Powell to cut rate since returning to the White House. (NYT)
"Oil prices are down, groceries (even eggs!) are down, and the USA is getting RICH ON TARIFFS," Trump's statement added. "Too Late should have lowered Interest Rates, like the ECB, long ago, but he should certainly lower them now. Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!"
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BREAKING: Trump has said: "Jerome Powell is always too late and wrong. His termination “cannot come fast enough.” The Fed should’ve cut interest rates long ago." pic.twitter.com/Mc7BOHFvWm
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) April 17, 2025
Powell emphasized the Fed’s independence on Wednesday, which he said was “very widely understood and supported in Washington and in Congress where it really matters.”
“People can say whatever they want. That’s fine. That’s not a problem, but we will do what we do strictly without consideration of political or any other extraneous factors,” he said on Wednesday.
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