With some cooling of jobs data, President Donald Trump on Friday issued another proverbial "told you so" on frequently criticized "too late" Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Truth Social, accusing him of acting too slowly to cut interest rates as the economy shows signs of strain.
"Jerome 'Too Late' Powell should have lowered rates long ago. As usual, he's 'Too Late!'" Trump wrote, reviving a familiar line of criticism from his presidency.
The comments came just hours after the release of the August jobs report, which showed the U.S. economy added only 22,000 jobs last month. That figure marked a steep slowdown after July's weak hiring and downward revisions to earlier months. The cooling labor market has heightened expectations that the Fed will move to reduce borrowing costs when it meets Sept. 16–17.
Markets rallied on the softer-than-expected jobs data, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq climbing to record highs as investors bet on imminent monetary easing. Treasury yields also fell, reflecting the shift in sentiment.
Powell, who has faced years of political pressure from Trump, has signaled that the central bank is prepared to act if labor market weakness deepens. But Trump's remarks underscore his push to portray Powell's leadership as ineffective, even as the Fed weighs its first rate cut of the year.