Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell remains unmoved, unyielding as President Donald Trump intensifies pressure, as calls for lowering interest rates grow louder, and as the standoff between the two stretches into another high-stakes moment for the U.S. economy.
Trump has spent months trying to force Powell’s hand, publicly portraying the Fed chief as the obstacle to cheaper borrowing costs and faster economic momentum.
But this week, Powell made it clear the pressure isn’t working.
The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday, March 18, that it would hold its benchmark interest rate steady — a decision that once again put Powell directly at odds with a president who’s made no secret of how badly he wants rates to come down.
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In a statement after the 11-1 vote, the Fed said, “Uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated.”
“The implications of developments in the Middle East for the U.S. economy are uncertain,” the board wrote of their decision to leave the federal funds rate alone, according to National Public Radio.
But in a press conference after the vote, Powell directly blamed Trump after a reporter asked how an elevated inflation rate impacted the board’s decision.
“Let me say we’re well aware of the performance of inflation over the last few years and how a series of shocks have interrupted progress that we’ve made over time, and that happened most recently with tariffs, and now there will be some effects on inflation coming forward,” he said seemingly referring to Trump’s deadly war on Iran that has sent energy prices spiking in recent weeks.
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“He should be lowering rates immediately, but he won’t do that because he’s he’s a stubborn, incompetent person, and that’s a bad thing,” Trump groused.
“You know, when you’re stubborn and incompetent, I think it’s the worst combination,” he angrily spat out as critics contend Trump was actually describing himself.
Social media erupted at the public display of grievance from a president who just took the U.S. into what some are calling an unwinnable war against Iran after campaigning for years against involvement in foreign wars.
“The economy is in a shambles thanks to Trump. The Stock market is crashing and everyone seems to be ignoring it. This bullsh-tting grifter needs to be removed. Unfit,” a Threads user declared.
Another chimed in, “Trump says Jerome Powell won’t lower rates because he has Trump Derangement Syndrome, not because they’ve destroyed the job market and jacked up inflation.”
This poster said it’s like the pot calling the kettle black, “Man who is stubborn and incompetent accuses another man of being both stubborn and incompetent.”
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The Justice Department’s Powell probe also puts Trump in an awkward situation, because not only is the Fed chair threatening to stay in his position until the investigation is completed, senior Banking Committee member North Carolina Republican Thom Tillis says he won’t advance Trump’s pick to replace Powell until the probe is over.
