President Donald Trump lashed out at Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday during a news conference, calling him "stupid" and a "stubborn mule."
The news conference was to announce a peace deal between Rwanda and Congo, two African nations that have been embroiled in a bloody conflict for decades. Trump took questions from reporters following the peace deal's announcement and was asked about whether he wanted Powell to resign from his post.
"I'd love him to resign, if he wanted to," Trump said. "He's done a lousy job."
Trump has publicly pressured Powell to lower interest rates for months, but the Federal Reserve Chair has resisted because Trump's tariffs have added a new layer of uncertainty to the financial markets.
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates 11 times during the COVID-19 pandemic to combat inflation. Since the pandemic ended, the central bank has cut rates three times down to its current benchmark of 4.25%-4.5%. However, those rates are still too high for Trump's liking. The president said that rates should be closer to 1% during Friday's news conference.
"You have a guy in there that, with the stroke of a pen, could save us hundreds of billions of dollars a year," Trump said. "But he won't because he's a stupid person."
"We have a guy that's just a stubborn mule and a stupid person that is making a big mistake," Trump continued.
Trump also made it clear that he plans to appoint a loyalist who will lower interest rates once Powell's term is up in May 2026.
"If inflation goes up in a year or two, then we'll raise rates again," Trump said. "We'll get rid of the inflation."
You can watch the exchange here.