President Donald Trump on Monday said any "slowing of the economy" would be the result of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's refusal to lower interest rates.
Trump has been calling on Powell to lower interest rates, and even suggested removing him from his position.
Powell has downplayed the likelihood of cutting interest rates in the near future and said recently that the administration's tariff plans were likely to raise both inflation and unemployment.
"'Preemptive Cuts' in Interest Rates are being called for by many. With Energy Costs way down, food prices (including Biden's egg disaster!) substantially lower, and most other 'things' trending down, there is virtually No Inflation," Trump posted on Truth Social.
"With these costs trending so nicely downward, just what I predicted they would do, there can almost be no inflation, but there can be a SLOWING of the economy unless Mr. Too Late, a major loser, lowers interest rates, NOW. Europe has already 'lowered' seven times.
"Powell has always been 'To Late,' except when it came to the Election period when he lowered in order to help Sleepy Joe Biden, later Kamala [Harris], get elected. How did that work out?"
Trump told reporters Friday in the Oval Office that inflation was going down, and Powell should respond by reducing interest rates.
"If we had a Fed chairman that understood what he was doing, interest rates would be coming down. He should bring them down," Trump said.
On Thursday, Trump said that if he asks Powell to leave, "he'll be out of there."
"I don't think he's doing the job," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "He's too late. Always too late. A little slow. And I’m not happy with him. I let him know it."
Powell has insisted that he can't be fired and won't leave the job before his term ends, even if Trump demands he do so.
Powell's second four-year term as chair of the Federal Reserve ends in May 2026.
Reuters contributed to this story.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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