Trump criticized Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell early Thursday, a day after Powell said the Fed would keep its key interest rate unchanged for the third straight meeting.
Yet Trump did not suggest he would seek to remove Powell as chair. On Sunday, he said he would let Powell serve out his term, which lasts until next May.
Powell said Wednesday that Trump’s tariffs, if they remained in place at their current level, could weaken the economy, raise inflation and increase unemployment. Powell emphasized that the Fed is still in “wait-and-see” mode as it evaluates the tariffs’ effect on the economy.
Trump said “almost all costs” are down, including groceries and eggs, and added that there’s “virtually NO INFLATION.”
Consumer prices did fall in March, on a monthly basis, for the first time in nearly five years. Yet grocery costs jumped 0.5% just from February to March. The Fed considers inflation in check when it falls to 2%. It was 2.4% in March.