President Donald Trump ripped into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday, blaming him for America’s economic problems — even though many stem from Trump’s own trade policies.
“Jerome ‘too late’ Powell has done it again!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “He is too late, and actually, too angry, too stupid and too political to have the job of Fed chair. He is costing our Country trillions of dollars, in addition to one of the most incompetent, or corrupt, renovations of a building(s) in the history of construction! Put another way, ‘too late’ is a total loser, and our country is paying the price!”
Trump has been demanding the Fed slash interest rates, which are currently around 4.33%. But Powell hasn’t budged. Instead of accepting that, Trump is now accusing Powell of corruption over a renovation project at the Fed’s Washington, D.C. headquarters — a project unrelated to interest rates or inflation.
This outburst is just the latest in Trump’s long-running attacks on Powell. He’s even floated the idea of firing him, though he later backed off after legal and political pushback.
Trump’s criticism comes despite the fact that economists widely point to his own tariffs — especially those on Chinese goods — as a major driver of the inflation Americans are feeling. Those tariffs raised prices across the board, and many of them are still in place.
Experts warn that if Trump gets back in office and installs a Fed chair who cuts rates too fast, it could spark panic among investors, weaken the dollar, and send prices even higher. Cutting rates down to the 1% level Trump wants would risk undoing years of work to stabilize the economy.
But Trump isn’t focused on that. He’s focused on Powell — and making sure everyone knows who he blames.
