President Donald Trump slammed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday, hours before the central bank’s interest rate decision, calling him “a stupid person.”
“We have a stupid person, frankly, at the Fed,” Trump said. “He probably won’t cut today. Europe had 10 cuts and we had none. I guess he’s a political guy, I don’t know. He’s a political guy who’s not a smart person. But he’s costing the country a fortune.”
The Fed will announce its latest decision on whether to cut interest rates on Wednesday.
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The central bank is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged this week, which would make it four straight meetings in which the central bank has left rates unchanged. The benchmark federal funds rate has been at a target range of 4.25% to 4.5% since the Fed’s last interest rate cut in December.
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“If he’s worried about inflation, that’s OK, I understand that,” Trump said. “I don’t think there’s going to be any, so far there hasn’t.”
The president added, “We have a man who just refuses to lower the Fed rate. Just refuses to do it. And he’s not a smart person. I don’t even think he’s that political. I think he hates me, but that’s OK.”
The Fed and Powell have faced mounting political pressure from the Trump administration to lower rates to spur the economy.
Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday echoed Trump’s calls for the Fed to cut interest rates.
“The president has been saying this for a while, but it’s even more clear: the refusal by the Fed to cut rates is monetary malpractice,” Vance wrote in a post on X.
Trump most recently bashed the Fed chair earlier this month after the release of a stronger-than-expected May jobs report.
“‘Too Late’ at the Fed is a disaster!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “Europe has had 10 rate cuts, we have had none. Despite him, our Country is doing great. Go for a full point, Rocket Fuel!”
