Tensions escalate between Donald Trump and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell – Trump sends handwritten letter

US President Donald Trump continues to pressure Fed Chair Jerome Powell into cutting down the whales. Trump criticized Powell in a handwritten note shared on the Truth Social platform on Monday, saying that interest rates should be lowered "significantly". Trump tweeted, "Powell and the Fed Council should be ashamed. They have one of the easiest yet most prestigious jobs in the US and they have failed, and continue to fail." The image added to the post includes the message that Trump wrote with a Sharpie on the table showing the interest rates of central banks in different countries: "Jerome – As usual, you arrived too late. You have cost the United States a lot of money – and continue to do so – you must seriously lower interest rates!" Trump wrote in his notes, adding that "Hundreds of billions of dollars are being lost! No inflation" and signed.

Trump believes that the interest rate in the United States should be at 1.75% or lower and that the country should be among those with low interest rates. Fed officials have planned to continue cutting interest rates as inflation slows to the annual target of 2% by early 2025. However, those moves have been postponed in the first half of the year due to the uncertainty created by Trump's tariff plan. In a statement last week, Powell defended the decision to keep the Fed's interest rates unchanged and said "we need to be patient." In contrast, Trump continued to criticize Powell for many months. Trump, who had previously stated that he was considering firing Powell, whom he nicknamed "Mr. Too Late," appointed Powell to this position in 2017. Powell's term will end in 2026.