On Apr. 17, President Donald Trump called on the Federal Reserve's “too late” chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates now. "Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!" he remarked on the Truth Social platform.
Trump dismissed Powell’s warning of an inflation stemming from the tariff tensions, adding that the prices of oil, groceries, and eggs are going down, he added. He claimed that “the USA is getting RICH ON TARIFFS.”
Trump also cited the example of the European Central Bank (ECB) that he thinks the Fed should emulate. On Apr. 17, the ECB cut rates for the seventh time in a year. The latest cut lowered the deposit facility rate to 2.25%.
“Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough,” Trump warned. Powell’s Fed tenure ends in May 2026.
The president’s outburst was in reaction to Powell’s speech at the Economic Club of Chicago on Apr. 16, in which the Fed chair warned of a rise in inflation “at least temporarily” due to Trump's tariff policy. The inflationary effect of the tariff hikes could also be long-term, he added.
Powell didn’t indicate any immediate rate cuts in his speech, saying the Fed is well positioned to “wait for greater clarity” before considering any adjustments to its policy.
Trump has time and again asked the Fed to cut rates, as he did on Apr. 7.
As reported earlier, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in March was at 2.4%. Though the figure was lower than expected, it was still higher than the Fed’s target of 2%.
Note that March’s inflation figure didn’t reflect the impact of Trump's new policy because he began escalating tariffs on Apr. 2.
Related: Trump Tariff Live Updates: China now faces up to a 245% tariff on imports to the U.S.
Powell’s speech disappointed the crypto market. Bitcoin dipped below the $85,300 level immediately after the speech and was trading at $84,775.65 at press time, as per Kraken’s price feed.