ISTANBUL
US President Donald Trump has targeted Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell 23 times with insults in the first six months of this year, albeit to limited reception, as his critical statements did not impact markets as much as expected.
Trump criticized Powell once in January, seven times in April, three times in May, eight times in June and four times since the beginning of July, according to data compiled by Anadolu.
Trump directly insulted the Fed Chair with terms like “a complete moron,” “major loser,” “fool,” “truly one of the dumbest,” “numbskull” and more, while urging Powell to cut rates or he would be dismissed.
Eleven of the statements were made on social media, while 12 were verbal, including official announcements, interviews, press releases and speeches.
A strong flow of positive data and economic developments limited the impact on markets.
Trump began harshly criticizing Powell only nine days after taking office, saying in a post on his Truth Social platform that Powell and the Fed failed to address the inflation issue that they allegedly caused.
In April, Trump said on Truth Social that it would be a “PERFECT time for Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to cut Interest Rates.” “A BIG WIN for America. CUT INTEREST RATES, JEROME, AND STOP PLAYING POLITICS!”
He called Powell “Mr. Too Late,” saying that a slowdown in the economy could come to the fore if rates aren’t cut. Despite talking about firing Powell, which he doesn’t have the power to do, Trump said he wasn’t considering sacking the Fed Chair in subsequent statements.
During an interview on NBC News in May, Trump said he wouldn’t remove Powell over interest rates but noted that he “should lower them.”
“And at some point, he will,” he said. “He’d rather not because he’s not a fan of mine, you know. He just doesn’t like me because I think he’s a total stiff.”
He later said that Powell had no ideas and talking to him felt like talking to a wall, citing examples from the Bank of England and the People’s Bank of China, which cut rates at the time, while the Fed had yet to do so.
The month of June was marked by Trump’s most critical statements regarding Powell.
ADP non-farm payrolls climbed only by 37,000 in May, according to data released in June, marking their worst performance since March 2023.
“ADP NUMBER OUT!!! ‘Too Late’ Powell must now LOWER THE RATE. He is unbelievable,” said Trump on Truth Social, referring to the data in a bid to pressure the Fed Chair to lower rates a week after meeting him for the first time since the inauguration.
Trump said in a Truth Social post that he didn’t agree with people telling him the situation would worsen if he somehow fired Powell, calling it “fake news” as he did many things. At a White House event, he said he would do a better job leading the Fed himself.
Later in the month, he called Powell “truly one of the dumbest and most destructive people in the government,” saying “TOO LATE’s an American Disgrace.”
In another post, he questioned why the Board of Governors had not fired Powell while later wishing Congress to do something about him before the Fed Chair’s upcoming speech, noting that the US would pay the price for his incompetence.
At the NATO summit in The Hague, Trump called Powell an “average mentally person.”
“Low IQ for what he does,” he said. “I think he’s a very stupid person, actually.”
In July, Trump continued calling Powell names while speaking to reporters, saying he had options to replace him with, while posting on Truth Social, telling Powell to resign and that rates need to be lowered.
He said his administration wasn’t planning to do anything yet when asked at a press conference about removing Powell, but noted they were concerned.
The Supreme Court said in May that Trump would need a valid reason or cause to remove Powell.
On July 11, two weeks after White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt held up a handwritten note from Trump to Powell telling him to “lower the rate — by a lot,” Russel Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), said Powell’s $2.5 billion planned renovation of the Fed headquarters was illegal.
“Instead of attempting to right the Fed’s fiscal ship, you have plowed ahead with an ostentatious overhaul of your Washington D.C. headquarters,” said Vought on social media.
Vought accused Powell of lying after the Fed Chair testified before the Senate in June regarding the rising cost of the renovation — from $1.9 billion to $2.5 billion.
Powell insisted that the renovation wasn’t lavish.
“There’s no VIP dining room, there’s no new marble,” he said. “There are no special elevators, just old elevators that have been there.”
According to the 2023 Board Operating and Capital Budgets document by the Fed on Nov. 30, 2022, the central bank cited the additional cost of the renovation as “significant increases in raw materials,” “higher labor costs” and “changes in construction schedule expectations which lengthen use of leased space.”
“I mean it’s possible there’s fraud involved with the $2.5 billion renovation,” Trump said in a Truth Social post, responding to the developments.
