President Donald Trump, who last month said he wouldn't try to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell before his term ends in May 2026, suggested Friday he might change his mind as he continued criticizing the board's decision this week not to reduce interest rates.
Trump railed against Powell again Friday in a long post on Truth Social, calling him a "numbskull," "moron," and "dumb guy."
On Wednesday, after the Fed decided to hold its benchmark interest rate steady at 4.25% to 4.5%, Trump responded that day in a post on Truth Social calling Powell "a real dummy, who's costing America $Billions!"
"I fully understand that my strong criticism of him makes it more difficult for him to do what he should be doing, lowering Rates, but I've tried it all different ways," Trump wrote Friday. "I've been nice, I've been neutral, and I've been nasty, and nice and neutral didn't work!"
The post included a graphic showing how the Federal Reserve's rate compared with those of 43 other nations, with the U.S. sitting at the bottom tied with Cameroon, Guatemala, Norway, Israel, and Congo.
"I don't know why the Board doesn't override this Total and Complete Moron!" Trump wrote. "Maybe, just maybe, I'll have to change my mind about firing him? But regardless, his Term ends shortly!"
Powell, appointed in Trump's first term as Fed chair, was nominated to a second four-year term in 2022 by President Joe Biden. His current term will end next May.
Board members of independent federal agencies such as the Fed can be forced out before their terms expire only "for cause," according to CBS News, citing a 1935 Supreme Court decision that affirmed Congress' authority to create such agencies.
At a news conference Wednesday, Powell brushed off Trump's criticisms, saying he is focused on the work at hand, CNN reported.
"From my standpoint, it's not complicated," Powell said. "What everyone on the [Fed policymaking committee] wants is a good, solid American economy with strong labor market and price stability. That's what we want. Our policy is well-positioned right now to deliver that."
Trump wrote that Powell "complains about costs" that occurred during "the Biden Fake 'Government,' " but he could do "the biggest and best job for our Country by helping to lower Interest Rates and, if he reduced them to the number they should be, 1% to 2%, that 'numbskull' would be saving the United States of America up to $1 Trillion Dollars per year."
"He's a dumb guy, and an obvious Trump Hater, who should have never been there," Trump wrote. "I listened to someone that I shouldn't have listened to, and Biden shouldn't have reappointed him. We have virtually No Inflation, our Economy is doing really well, and will soon be doing, with the tremendous Tariff Income coming in, and Factories being built all over the Country, better than it has ever done before."
Newsmax has reached out to Powell for comment.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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