WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said he will not remove Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve Board chairman before his term ends in May 2026 while describing the central banker as “a total stiff” and repeating calls for the Fed to lower interest rates.
Trump insisted that his moves to upend the global trading system with higher tariffs would eventually make Americans rich, and insisted that a first-quarter contraction in the US economy was the result of former President Joe Biden’s policies.
In an interview with “Meet the Press with Kristen Welker” on NBC News that aired on Sunday, Trump said he expected the Fed to lower interest rates at some point.
“Well, he should lower them. And at some point, he will. He’d rather not because he’s not a fan of mine. You know, he just doesn’t like me because I think he’s a total stiff,” he said in the interview, which was taped in Florida on Friday.
Asked if he would remove Powell before his term as chair ends in 2026, Trump issued his most definitive denial, saying, “No, no, no. That was a total – why would I do that? I get to replace the person in another short period of time.”
Wall Street stocks fell sharply last month after Trump doubled down on his attacks against Powell, amplifying concerns about the central bank’s autonomy and rattling markets. After the nosedive, Trump has backed off somewhat.
The comments aired on Sunday were the clearest indication yet that the president would keep Powell in place, which could reassure markets deeply unsettled by Trump’s moves to upend the global trading system with a tsunami of tariffs.
On Apr 2, Trump imposed a 10 per cent tariff on most countries, along with higher tariff rates for many trading partners that were then suspended for 90 days. He has also imposed 25 per cent tariffs on autos, steel and aluminum, 25 per cent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and 145 per cent tariffs on China.
