Donald Trump: Angry criticism of Fed Chairman Powell for unchanged key interest rate

In his unsuccessful campaign for a lower key interest rate and in his attacks on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell (72), US PresidentDonald Trump (79) seems to be losing patience: "I've been nice, I've stayed neutral, and I've been nasty - and nice and neutral didn't work," Trump wrote on Friday (local time) on his platform Truth Social and immediately raged: "Why doesn't the board overrule this total and complete moron?" The US President then went on to call Powell a "moron" and wrote that the head of the Federal Reserve was obviously a "Trump hater."

The Federal Reserve (Fed) again refrained from lowering its key interest rate on Wednesday, despite pressure from Trump. It left the key interest rate at which banks borrow money in the range of 4.25 to 4.5 percent for the fourth consecutive day. The central bank explained that "uncertainty about the economic outlook" has decreased but remains high. Powell told reporters that the central bank expects Trump's tariff policy to dampen growth and accelerate consumer price increases.

In his post, Trump again called for a significant reduction in the federal funds rate to 1 to 2 percent. He wrote that this could save the United States a trillion dollars annually. He was likely referring to the high cost of servicing the federal government's debt.

In recent months, the US president has repeatedly launched harsh, personal, and unobjective attacks on Powell, whom he himself appointed during his first term. On Wednesday, Trump called Powell a "stupid person"; in April, he dubbed him "Mr. Too Late" and a "big loser." In August 2024, Trump—then still a presidential candidate—called for the involvement of US presidents in Federal Reserve decisions: "I think the president should at least have a say," Trump said. Experts believe that if monetary policy decisions are made impulsively and for political reasons, this could lead to uncertainty and disruption in the financial markets.

The Republican's latest post gives an idea of ​​how deeply he is struggling with the issue. "I fully understand that my strong criticism of him makes it harder to do what he should be doing, which is lower interest rates. But I've tried everything else," Trump wrote. Perhaps he should reconsider firing him, Trump suggested. After all, the president continued, Powell's term is ending soon. The central banker has just under a year left at the helm of the Fed. He has already stated several times that he will not step down voluntarily.

The question of whether Trump could actually fire the head of the legally independent U.S. Federal Reserve is uncharted legal territory. Most experts believe that Trump would not be allowed to do so. By taking this action, the President of the United States of America is challenging the independence of the central bank, which is one of the fundamental principles of the Fed's work.