Trump and Powell in tit-for-tat during tour of Fed building
發佈日期: 2025-07-25 22:19
TVB News
U.S. President Donald Trump toured the Federal Reserve's headquarters in Washington, which is under renovation, along with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.
But the pair were engaged in a testy conversation over the cost of the renovations in front of reporters. Trump has long been unhappy that Powell has not lowered interest rates.
Accompanied by Senator Tim Scott, Donald Trump and Jerome Powell donned hard hats for their tour of the Federal Reserve's headquarters.
At the end, they engaged in a tit-for-tat. This is how the conversation went.
Trump: So, we are taking a look. It looks like it's about $3.1 billion. It went up a little bit, or a lot. So the $2.7 is now $3.1. (Powell shakes his head.)
Powell: I'm not aware of that.
Trump: Yeah, it just came out. Yeah.
Powell: I haven't heard that from anybody at the Fed.
Trump: Yeah, it just came out. 3.1, 3.2. (Powell: This came from us?) Yes. I don't know who does that.
Powell: Oh, you're including the Martin renovation. You just added in a third building, it's what that is. That's a third building.
Trump: It's a building that's being built.
Powell: No, it was built five years ago. We finished Martin five years ago.
Trump: It is part of the overall work (Powell: It is not new.) So, we're going to take a look. We're going see what's happening, and it's got a long way. Do you expect any more additional cost-over runs?
Powell: Don't expect them, we're ready for them, but we have a little bit of a reserve that we may use, but no, we don't. We expect to be finished by 2027. We are well along, as you can see.
Trump: Nice to take these off every once in a while (a hard hat) when we're not under too much danger.
Later when taking questions from the media, Trump was asked what he would do as a real estate owner if a manager is over budget.
"Generally speaking, what would I do? I'd fire him," he said.
What can Powell do for Trump to ease pressure on him?
Trump said: "Well, I'd love him to lower interest rates. Other than that, what can I tell you?"
