Trump Claims Greater Knowledge Of Interest Rates Than Jerome Powell: 'I Have A Fed Person Who's Not Really Doing A Good Job'

President Donald Trump took aim at Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell yet again, calling out the central bank chief for not cutting interest rates.

In his speech at a rally outside Detroit, Michigan, to mark 100 days in office, Trump said, "Inflation is basically down, and interest rates came down despite the fact that I have a Fed person who's not really doing a good job."

The president professed knowledge of interest rates more than Powell.

"You're not supposed to criticize the Fed. You're supposed to let him do his own thing. But I know much more than he does about interest rates," he said. 

Trump referred to the core consumer price inflation (CPI), which fell to a four-year low of 2.8% in March. However, inflation expectations have spiked since then due to fears that Trump's reciprocal tariffs fears will spur price increases.

The results of the Conference Board's April consumer confidence survey, released Tuesday, showed that inflation expectations reached 7%, the highest since November 2022, when the country experienced extremely high inflation.

Powell, appointed as Fed chair by Trump during his first term, fell out of favor with the president after stating he would wait for more clarity on the effects of the administration's broad tariffs before adjusting interest rates.

Since then, the president and key officials have criticized Powell, with Trump even suggesting he might remove him from the position.

Trump toned down his rhetoric after the market reacted adversely to his earlier comments. He then said he had no intention to fire Powell but reiterated that this was the perfect time to lower rates. "If he doesn't, is it the end? No. It's not," he added.

The futures market currently prices a 92.3% probability of the central bank keeping the Fed funds rate unchanged at 4.25%-4.50% when its monetary policy-setting arm meets for two days on May 6-7. 

The Conference Board's consumer confidence index fell to its lowest level since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, dragged lower by consumer expectations regarding business conditions, employment prospects, and future income. 

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) exchange-traded fund (ETF) ended Tuesday's session up 0.63% at $554.32, and the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) ETF rose 0.66% to $475.53.

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