In a stunning moment that’s now going viral, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell openly fact-checked and embarrassed President Donald Trump during a live broadcast — and the internet is calling it nothing short of a “public spanking.”
The two appeared side-by-side Thursday during a tour of the Federal Reserve Board building in Washington, D.C., where renovations are underway. Trump, known for his long-running feud with Powell, tried to turn the visit into a political stunt. But it backfired — badly.
“I mean, it was an incredibly awkward scene,” CNN’s Alayna Treene told anchor Kasie Hunt. “You have the president there… someone he has been openly warring with, openly attacking for months now.” Trump, she explained, has been pushing a narrative that the Fed’s renovation costs have spiraled out of control — a move insiders say is part of a broader effort to lay the groundwork to fire Powell.
But Powell wasn’t having it.
Trump claimed the project had ballooned to $3.1 billion. Powell, standing calmly in a hard hat, responded, “I didn’t hear that from anyone at the Fed.” Trump handed him a document meant to prove the costs. Powell put on his glasses, read it — and exposed Trump on live television.
“It was built five years ago,” Powell said, referring to the building Trump insisted was still under construction.
The moment landed like a slap. MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace summed it up bluntly: “Jerome Powell, in real time, failed to be humiliated by Donald Trump… and made a fool out of Donald Trump for getting his facts wrong.”
Online reactions came fast and furious.
“Trump, who NEVER gets any pushback from the press when he lies, just got publicly spanked by someone who is not taking any of his bull—- — Jerome Powell,” posted musician and activist Bill Madden.
“How does Jerome Powell comfortably walk around with balls that big?” wrote progressive commentator Jack Cocchiarella.
Even those who usually disagree with Powell stepped in to support him.
“I’ve disagreed with almost everything Jerome Powell has done since 2021,” said Tolou Capital founder Spencer Hakimian. “But I stand strongly behind him today.”
Jonathan Sher, an investigative journalist, didn’t hold back: “Donald Trump tries to bully Jerome Powell… with lies — but Powell fires back, exposing Trump’s deceit. Trump is the greatest threat in my lifetime to American democracy.”
The drama unfolded as Trump appeared to be using the tour — and a shaky $3 billion cost claim — to attack Powell and question his leadership. But as CNN’s Kaitlan Collins called it, it was a “remarkable moment” where Powell coolly dismantled Trump’s numbers in front of the cameras.
Adding to the absurdity, Sen. Tim Scott, standing nearby, chimed in claiming the cost was even higher: $3.2 billion. Powell didn’t blink. He reminded them that Trump was confusing multiple projects, including one that wrapped up years ago.
Reporter Vaughn Hillyard added context, saying Trump may be trying to fire Powell “for cause” and appoint someone new. But even his own budget chief, Russ Vought, couldn’t provide a shred of evidence for the supposed fraud Trump is alleging.
“He should have stuck with nanny, nanny, nanny, I don’t like you,” Wallace mocked. “That was ridiculous. I got flop sweat for the president.”
What started as an attempted takedown turned into a total self-own. In front of cameras, documents, and a fact-checking Fed chair, Donald Trump found himself humiliated — and the internet noticed.
As one user put it: “Jerome Powell just fact-checked Trump TO HIS FACE and he clearly wasn’t happy about it…”
Watch the video and the reaction from MSNBC and CNN below:
