President Donald Trump on Friday once again suggested firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell after the Fed decided earlier this week to maintain interest rates despite declining inflation.
Trump has been openly critical of Powell, whose term runs through 2026, calling him “too late” on Thursday and accusing him of costing the U.S. “hundreds of billions of dollars.” Powell, meanwhile, has urged patience from the public. The president claimed Powell, who he appointed to the role in 2017, was a “numbskull,” a “dumb guy,” and “an obvious Trump Hater,” who should be saving the U.S. “up to $1 trillion a year.”
“I fully understand that my strong criticism of him makes it more difficult for him to do what he should be doing, lowering Rates, but I’ve tried it all different ways. I’ve been nice, I’ve been neutral, and I’ve been nasty, and nice and neutral didn’t work,” he wrote in a post to Truth Social.
“We have virtually no Inflation, our economy is doing really well, and will soon be doing, with the tremendous Tariff Income coming in, and Factories being built all over the Country, better than it has ever done before,” Trump added. Trump asserted that the United States should rank at the top of a list comparing central bank interest rates across countries, rather than near the bottom.
“I don’t know why the Board doesn’t override this Total and Complete Moron,” Trump wrote. “Maybe, just maybe, I’ll have to change my mind about firing him? But regardless, his Term ends shortly.”
The comments follow Trump’s statement in April that he would not fire Powell, and Powell’s November declaration that he would refuse to step down if asked by the president.
