Trump shifts tone on Fed Chair Powell, calling him ‘a very good man’ after their meeting on interest rates.
US President Donald Trump says he had a positive meeting with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and gained the impression that the central bank’s head might be ready to lower interest rates.
The two men met on Thursday when Trump made a rare visit to the US central bank to tour its ongoing renovation of two buildings at its headquarters in Washington, which the White House has criticised as costing too much.
Trump clashed with Powell during his visit and criticised the cost of renovating two historic buildings at its headquarters, and they sparred over the project’s actual price tag.
“We had a very good meeting … I think we had a very good meeting on interest rates,” Trump told reporters on Friday.
The central bank said on Friday it was “grateful” for Trump’s encouragement to complete the renovation of its buildings in Washington and that it “looked forward” to seeing the project through to completion.
Trump, who called Powell a “numbskull” earlier this week for failing to heed the White House’s demand for a large reduction in borrowing costs, said he did not intend to fire Powell, as he has frequently suggested he would.
On Friday, Trump called Powell a “very good man” when speaking to reporters.
Rather than lowering interest rates, economists widely expect the central bank to leave its benchmark interest rate in the 4.25 percent – 4.50 percent range at the conclusion of a two-day policy meeting next week.
Tariffs stall rate cuts
The central bank has held rates steady since December, and earlier this year, Powell said that if it were not for Trump’s imposed tariffs and the economic uncertainty it has caused, the central bank might have been ready to lower rates by now.
The visit comes as President Trump is expected to meet UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, where the two sides could potentially approve an already announced trade deal, as trade negotiations with Canada stall. Trump said his administration could set a tariff rate unilaterally on Canada.
“We haven’t really had a lot of luck with Canada. I think Canada could be one where there’s just a tariff, not really a negotiation.”
Trump also said there is a 50-percent chance of Washington being able to strike a deal with the European Union to reduce import tariffs.
“I would say that we have a 50/50 chance, maybe less than that, but a 50/50 chance of making a deal with the EU,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
The president has been pressing his case for reduced interest rates, including falsely claiming, “We’ve wiped out inflation.” Inflation actually rose last month to 2.7 percent.
Despite continued pressure from the Trump administration, Powell has long maintained that the central bank must preserve its independence from the White House.
In late May, the Fed reiterated that point, saying in a statement that it makes “decisions based solely on careful, objective, and non-political analysis.”
