CNBC: Trump ramps up attacks on Powell, demands 'loser' Fed chair lower rates 'NOW'

[Dennis Donovan]

CNBC - Trump ramps up attacks on Powell, demands ‘loser’ Fed chair lower rates ‘NOW’

Published Mon, Apr 21 2025
9:46 AM EDT
Updated 7 Min Ago
Kevin Breuninger

Key Points
• President Donald Trump ratcheted up his pressure campaign on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
• Trump on Truth Social called Powell a “major loser” and warned that the U.S. economy could slow down unless interest rates fall immediately.

President Donald Trump on Monday ratcheted up his pressure campaign on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, calling him a “major loser” and warning that the U.S. economy could slow down unless interest rates are lowered immediately.

″‘Preemptive Cuts’ in Interest Rates are being called for by many,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump claimed that there is currently “virtually No Inflation” in the U.S., and that costs for energy and “most other ‘things’” are on the decline.

“With these costs trending so nicely downward, just what I predicted they would do, there can almost be no inflation, but there can be a SLOWING of the economy unless Mr. Too Late, a major loser, lowers interest rates, NOW,” Trump wrote.

/snip

[AloeVera]

1. The Biggest Loser is setting up the Fall Guy for his own wrecking of the economy.

In typical fashion.

[Chipper Chat]

2. Trump is up?

[everyonematters]

3. I'm sure the insult will persuade him.

[bucolic_frolic]

4. Will the financial press allow Trump to use delusions to ruin the Fed and bond markets?

[dweller]

5. Blow his gaskets , Jerome

Raise it 0.25 points


✌🏻

[surfered]

6. That would just add to the inflation created by Trump's tariffs.

Of course, lower rates would decrease the interest cost of the Trump Organization’s debt.

[progree]

7. Trump on egg costs: 'If anything, the prices are getting too low', 'down 87%' The Hill, 4/18/25

From The Hill, 4/18/25

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-on-egg-costs-if-anything-the-prices-are-getting-too-low/ar-AA1DcG71

President Trump weighed in on the cost of eggs around the country, claiming Friday at the White House that the prices are “getting too low.”

Trump praised Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins for doing a “great” job and then asserted that egg prices are “down 87 percent, but nobody talks about that.”

"I’ll never forget the first … day, first week in office, they were screaming at me about eggs. I said, ‘What’s going with eggs?’ They were doubling and tripling. I said, ‘I just got here.’ They were up like double, triple, and you couldn’t get any,” Trump said Friday.
“They said you won’t have eggs for Easter,” the president added. “Well, you can have all the eggs you want.”

. . . Prices of eggs went up to $6.23 per dozen in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. It was $5.90 in February, nearly a dollar more compared to January’s $4.95 per dozen. ((putting it in chronolgical order: $4.95 -> $5.90 -> $6.23 --Progree))

Last 2 times I bought eggs -- per dozen:
1/30 $7.00
4/04 $8.30

Anyway, this is the bizarro make-believe world that tRump lives in.

Here's his Monday morning tweet in full:

"With Energy Costs way down, food prices (including Biden's egg disaster!) substantially lower, and most other "things" trending down, there is virtually No Inflation. With these costs trending so nicely downward, just what I predicted they would do, there can almost be no inflation, but there can be a SLOWING of the economy unless Mr. Too Late, a major loser, lowers interest rates, NOW. Europe has already "lowered" seven times. Powell has always been "To Late", [sic] except when it came to the Election period when he lowered in order to help Sleepy Joe Biden, later Kamala, get elected. How did that work out" -- April 21, 9:41 AM.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/live/stock-market-today-dow-sp-500-nasdaq-sink-with-trumps-tariffs-powell-bashing-in-focus-133040210.html

======================================================
Here's food prices for the last 7 months: monthly increases (the last one is March over February):
0.3% 0.2% 0.3% 0.3% 0.4% 0.2% 0.4%
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm

Food: https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUSR0000SAF1
The last 2 months average annualized, calculated using the actual index numbers is 3.66%

Food at home: https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUSR0000SAF11
Food away from home: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CUUR0000SEFV

[louis-t]

10. The saddest part is maga will believe him.

Even as they are paying more.

[progree]

11. Unfortunately true /nt

[Tarzanrock]

8. Only a "very stable genius" would attempt to put out a "fire" with gasoline.

A "pre-emptive cut" in the interest rate would just ratchet up the already increasing "inflation/stagflation" which is caused by these insane tariffs -- it would be akin to trying to put out a fire by hosing gasoline onto the fire instead of water. Good economic thinking, Turd.

[louis-t]

9. He's once again looking for someone to blame for his stupidity.

And he's lying about gas prices, and about food prices. Fast food places are raising their prices as much as 20% from what I saw this past week.