Trump v The Federal Reserve Chair

What A Day

Crooked Media

News, Daily News

4.6 • 12K Ratings

🗓️ 17 July 2025

⏱️ 22 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

President Donald Trump spent Wednesday refuting reports he plans to imminently fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. The president has been complaining about him for months, accusing Powell of unnecessarily keeping interest rates high. But Trump’s frustrations seemed to reach a new peak this week amid reports he had a letter drafted to oust the man he appointed to the job back in 2017, then asked a group of House Republicans whether he should do it. Firing Powell would undermine the Federal Reserve’s independence. It’s also potentially illegal. Bloomberg Senior Editor and friend of the pod Stacey Vanek Smith stops by to talk about interest rates, inflation risks, and Trump’s very focused campaign of loathing against Powell. And in headlines: Vice President J.D. Vance hit the road to put some proverbial lipstick on Trump’s pig of a new tax and spending law, the Trump administration deported five migrants to the small African nation of Eswatini, and the senior vice president of PBS Kids says the network will have to scale back new programing if Congress lets Trump claw back funding.

Transcript

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0:00.0	It's Thursday, July 17th. I'm Jane Koston, and this is what a day. The show that was
0:05.9	going to ask why President Donald Trump keeps being so weird about disgraced financier and sex
0:12.0	offender Jeffrey Epstein, but then saw that Trump wants Coca-Cola to use real sugar and Coke,
0:17.8	and now is totally back on Team MAGA. Finally, America has returned. Except that
0:24.0	Coca-Cola hasn't confirmed this is happening, but quote, appreciates Trump's enthusiasm for the
0:28.6	matter. On today's show, PBS Kids says new episodes of Daniel Tiger could be at risk because of President Trump's recisions package.
0:47.3	And Vice President J.D. Vance travels to Pennsylvania to tout Trump's BBL. That's big, beautiful law, not Brazilian buttlift, unfortunately.
0:57.7	But let's start with the economy, and specifically, the Federal Reserve. Yes, the Federal Reserve.
1:04.0	It'll be fine. We can do it together. Jerome Powell is the chair of the Federal Reserve,
1:08.6	and President Trump is very mad at him.
1:16.2	He even reportedly had a letter drafted to fire Powell and asked Republicans this week if he should do it.
1:24.7	Never mind the fact that just two months ago, the Supreme Court strongly suggested the president can't touch Powell until his term ends next year, unless he has reason to fire him.
1:29.2	Speaking from the Oval Office Wednesday, Trump refuted any plans to oust Powell while still leaving himself some wiggle room, of course.
1:31.7	I don't rule out anything, but I think it's highly unlikely unless he has to leave fraud.
1:38.2	Sure.
1:39.4	But Trump is still mad at the Fed Chair.
1:42.0	He's downright flummoxed that Powell even got the job in the first place.
1:45.7	He's a terrible Fed chair.
1:47.8	I was surprised he was appointed.
1:49.8	I was surprised, frankly, that Biden put him in and extended him.
1:54.8	But they did.
1:57.3	Except that the person who first appointed Powell was Trump in 2017.
	...

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