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Trump met with Jerome Powell and criticized him again for the Fed's interest rates

"We will never let ourselves be influenced by political pressure," says the president of the Federal Reserve despite Trump's pressures

AFP via Getty Images

President Donald Trump met on Thursday with the president of the Federal Reserve (Fed), Jerome Powell. This is the first time Trump has met with Powell during his second term, and he took the opportunity to reprimand him for not lowering the cost of loans. Powell responded that he will not make any decisions based on the president's demands.

The meeting, which took place after months of relentless attacks from Trump against the Fed chief, was held at the White House at his request.

"Powell did not discuss his expectations regarding monetary policy, except to make it clear that the policy will depend entirely on the economic information received and what it signifies," the Fed stated in a statement about the meeting.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell

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Trump has called Powell a "fool" and a "big loser," while also stating that the firing of the Fed chief "should happen soon." The harsh criticisms of Powell mainly focus on the fact that the central bank has not lowered interest rates as quickly as Trump would like.

In a briefing on Thursday afternoon, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the meeting between the two and added: "The president did say that he believes the Fed chairman is making a mistake by not lowering interest rates, which puts us at an economic disadvantage against China and other countries, and the president has been very clear about this."