'Inflation is at 2.7% now': Trump says Fed is holding back rate cuts, targets Powell

Key Highlights

• “If you announce great numbers, they raise interest rates,” Trump said.
• “When the market goes up, they should lower rates.”More from World This Week in Explainers: Why the anti-Khamenei uprising is Iran’s most powerful yet Why world should ignore Trump’s mockery of global leadersTrump blasts PowellAfter outlining his argument, Trump directly targeted the Fed chair.
• He said mortgage rates are declining and “that’s not with the help of the Fed.”“If I had the help of the Fed, it would be easier, but that jerk will be gone soon,” Trump said, escalating his long-running feud with the central bank chief. Manufacturing push and broader economic messageTrump has repeatedly clashed with the Fed chief over its rate strategy, pressing for faster cuts to boost growth and manufacturing.
• He argues that lower rates would drive investment and ease pressure on consumers, while the Fed remains focused on controlling inflation and maximising employment. The remarks came during a trip aimed at highlighting Trump’s manufacturing push and countering anxiety over job growth.
• The US President toured a Ford plant in Dearborn that produces the F-150 pickup before addressing business leaders in Detroit. Quick ReadsView All‘Agreed to remain in touch’: Jaishankar holds talks with Rubio on trade, defence and energy cooperationBill and Hillary Clinton refuse to testify in Republican-led Epstein probe, call investigation partisanEarlier in the day, Trump accused Powell of either being “incompetent” or “crooked,” citing cost overruns linked to renovations of the Fed’s Washington headquarters, an issue now under Justice Department scrutiny. Powell confirms criminal investigationJerome Powell confirmed that the US Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation tied to his past Senate testimony on renovations at Federal Reserve office buildings, he said on Sunday. He linked the investigation directly to President Donald Trump’s repeated complaints that the Fed has been too slow to cut interest rates. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD“The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best judgment of what serves the public, rather than following the president’s preferences,” Powell said in a video statement.“No one — certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve — is above the law,” Powell said.