Donald Trump has never met a problem he didn’t immediately blame on Joe Biden. On Monday, he turned that reflex toward the Federal Reserve. Apparently, Jerome Powell not working to Trump’s standard is also Biden’s fault.
Speaking at Mar-a-Lago during a joint briefing with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump unloaded on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. He had his vocabulary rehearsed, describing Powell as “an absolute fool,” “too late Powell,” and “grossly incompetent.” He also floated the idea of firing him, and urged him to resign “as a favor to the nation.” And that wasn’t it. The president even teased a lawsuit against the Fed chair for “gross incompetence.”
We had a 4.3% GDP… despite the fact that we have a fool at the Federal Reserve. I mean, Biden reappointed him. It’s too bad. You would have thought he wouldn’t have done that. But he’s an absolute fool who’s building a new Federal Reserve or he’s doing a renovation of a building.
All that was standard Trump. Disappointing but not surprising. But then, Trump complained about Biden reappointing Powell as if this were some shocking Democratic betrayal. What he conveniently skipped was the small detail that he himself appointed Powell in 2017. That too, with enthusiasm and heaps of public praise. So, what changed?
Apparently, Powell’s sin is that he didn’t slash interest rates fast enough when Trump wanted them slashed. And then, he allegedly moved “too early” before the election. Trump also accused Powell of overseeing a wildly over-budget renovation of Federal Reserve buildings, claiming costs could top $4 billion. “The highest price per square foot in the history of construction,” as he puts it, without evidence.
To drive the point home, Trump compared the Fed renovation unfavorably to his own White House ballroom project. He almost described his ballroom as the eighth wonder of the modern world. “Big,” “beautiful,” bulletproof, drone-proof, under budget, ahead of schedule, and so on.
What Trump did not mention is that Federal Reserve building projects are overseen by boards, inspectors, and congressional committees. They’re not personally micromanaged by the chair. Nor did he address the reality that the president cannot simply fire a Fed chair for disagreeing on interest rates.
Instead, he really leaned into his firing threat. When a reporter asked him whether he would tell Powell to resign, Trump replied that he was “getting pretty close.” He added,
Well, he should resign. It would be a favor to the nation. But he’s come close… I would fire him.
Trump also said that Powell’s replacement would be announced in January. But at no point did he explain how suing the Fed chair would lower inflation, stabilize rates, or reassure investors. He framed Powell as a Biden mistake, even though he picked him. “What a spin,” as one X user described it. Because whenever Trump’s decisions turn out to age poorly, they belong to someone else.
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