“Well, he should let them go. At some point, he would. He would rather not be because he is not a fan of mine. You know, he just doesn't like me because I think he's totally stiff,” he said in an interview recorded in Florida on Friday.
When asked if he would remove Powell before his term ended in 2026, Trump issued his clearest denial, saying: “No, no, no. That's a total – why would I do that? I could replace that person in another short time.”
Wall Street stocks plummeted after Trump’s attack on Powell doubled, widening concerns about central bank autonomy and rattled markets. After the nose, Trump has some support.
The comments aired on Sunday are by far the most obvious sign that the U.S. president has secured Powell in place, which could make Trump deeply uneasy about the move to subvert the global trading system through a tariff tsunami. On April 2, Trump imposed 10% tariffs in most countries, and many trading partners had higher tariff rates, and was suspended for 90 days. He also imposes 25% tariffs on cars, steel and aluminum, 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico and 145% tariffs on China. The Trump administration is negotiating trade deals in 15 countries that could avoid higher tariffs, officials say the deal will be announced soon.
In an interview with NBC News, Trump refused to rule out that some tariffs were permanent. “No, I wouldn't do that, because if anyone thinks they're going to leave the table, why would they be built in the United States?” he said.
Trump admits he is “very strong with China” and essentially he cancels trade between the world’s two large economies, but Beijing wants to reach a deal now.
“We went to Turkey,” he said. “That means we're not going to lose a trillion dollars … because we're not doing business with them right now. They want to have a deal. They want a very bad deal. We're going to see it all, but it must be fair.”
