President Trump bashed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday for not listening to his push to cut interest rates, after the central bank once again opted to hold interest rates steady this week.
Trump was asked about Powell after the Fed chair a day before told reporters he has never asked for a meeting with the president and he “never will.”
When asked if he plans to try to meet with Powell, Trump replied, “It’s like talking to a wall.”
That prompted laughter from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Vice President Vance, who flanked Trump in the Oval Office following an announcement about a trade agreement with the United Kingdom.
“Well the Bank of England cut, China cut, everybody’s cutting but him,” Trump said, referring to Powell bucking calls from him to lower borrowing costs. “We’ll see what happens. It’s a shame. I call him ‘Too Late.’
“‘Too Late Powell,’ that’s his nickname. It’s a shame. It’s ridiculous.”
The president, though, also touted a strong economy and said cutting rates wouldn’t matter much.
“In this case, its not going to mater that much, because our country is so strong; we’re so powerful in terms of economic strength and what we’ve done,” Trump said.
Powell had similarly cited the solid fundamentals in the economy as the reason the central bank can afford to wait to see how new trade, fiscal and regulatory policies will unfold.
The Fed’s interest rate-setting committee left rates at a range of 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent, marking the third hold in a row after pauses during meetings in March and January. The Fed cut rates three times in the back half of 2024.
Trump early Thursday took to social media to call Powell “a FOOL, who doesn’t have a clue” because of the decision to hold rates steady.
Powell, a lifelong Republican, was first nominated as Fed chair in 2017 by Trump and was later reappointed by former President Biden.
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