Trump Exposes Numbskull Hurting America

President Trump launched into a fiery critique of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday, calling him a “numbskull” and hinting that he may be prepared to intervene with the central bank, though he offered no specifics about what that might look like. The remarks came during a bill signing ceremony at the White House, where Trump was joined by lawmakers and guests to officially reverse California’s vehicle emissions standards.

In his comments, Trump renewed his demand for Powell to lower interest rates and addressed the ongoing speculation over whether he might attempt to fire the Fed chair, whom he appointed in 2017. “The fake news keeps saying, ‘Oh, if you fired him, it would be so bad,’” Trump said. “I don’t know why it would be so bad. But I’m not going to fire him. I just want him to well, we call him ‘too late,’” he added, referencing a nickname he’s used to mock Powell for what he views as delayed rate cuts.

As cameras rolled, Trump argued that reducing interest rates could save the country hundreds of billions of dollars. “If we cut our interest by one point, we save $300 billion a year. If we cut it by two points, it’s $600 billion,” he said. “And we’re not doing it because of one numbskull who says, ‘I don’t see a reason to cut rates.’”

Trump said he spoke with Powell during a meeting last month and urged him to lower rates, saying he’d only support an increase if inflation picked up again. The president then alluded to the possibility of taking action himself, though he did not elaborate on whether he was still considering removing Powell or pursuing some other method to influence monetary policy. “I may have to force something,” he said. “Somebody asked, ‘Who’s the genius who came up with that?’ I said, ‘It’s me.’ I had the idea. I suggested it. They said, ‘Let’s go short term for a year, let this guy leave office, and someone else will come in and cut it by a couple points.’”

While Trump has long criticized the Federal Reserve for not being more aggressive with rate cuts, Thursday’s comments were among his most direct and provocative, once again raising questions about how far he may be willing to go to pressure the central bank.