Trump Calls Powell ‘Stupid,’ Demands 200 Basis Point Cut Ahead Of Fed Decision

U.S. President Donald Trump spared no kind words for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell ahead of the central bank’s monetary policy meeting on Wednesday, suggesting that the Fed should lower interest rates by at least two percentage points.

“So we have a stupid person. Frankly, you probably won’t cut today,” Trump told reporters outside the White House. 

Broader markets were trending upward ahead of the meeting on Wednesday. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) and the Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 ETF (QQQ), which tracks the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100, gained around 0.5%.  

He also reiterated that the Fed’s rate cuts were behind European regulators. “Europe has 10 cuts and we had none. And I guess he’s [Powell] a political guy, I don’t know. He’s a political guy who’s not a smart person, but he’s costing the country a fortune.”

According to him, he’d do a better job at the helm of the central bank and save the country between $600 and $800 billion. “Maybe I should go to Fed. Am I allowed to appoint myself? Am I allowed to appoint myself at the Fed? I’d do a much better job than these people.”

Trump has repeatedly berated the Fed Chair for not cutting interest rates since taking office for his second term in January. The latest remarks come just before the Federal Open Market Committee's release of its policy statement and economic outlook.

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