Gasparino: Jerome Powell Has Been A Horrendous Fed Chair, He Missed Inflation And Allowed So Much Printing Of Money
On ‘Will Cain Show’ Charlie Gasparino criticized Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve Chairman:
LAWRENCE JONES: And there we have it, the president of the United States with the Fed chair right there in his element. And, Charlie, I want to bring you into this conversation, because… GASPARINO: That was some great TV. (LAUGHTER) JONES: And I quote the president, “I don’t want to get personal,” because he had the chairman with him. But you could tell the uncomfortability of the Fed chair there as the commander in chief is squaring off. GASPARINO: Powell with that hat on. And I know I’m dating you, because you’re a youngster. But it reminds me of Mike Dukakis in the tank with the helmet on. And he looks so weird and uncomfortable. Brit Hume is going to know exactly what I’m talking about, and he’s watching and some of the older guys here. So, it was a bizarre photo-op. It was vintage Trump. Jerome Powell corrected him. And let’s — we should — let’s look at the numbers, see if Jerome Powell’s right or Trump. He suggested that, in saying that, I think the number was at $ 3.1 billion. He’s throwing in some building that was already constructed. So he’s adding to it. Trump said… JONES: One of the contentions there is, you have a president before he decided to become president was a builder, that knows how to negotiate the contract. GASPARINO: That’s the best part. JONES: And that’s — and he’s taking on the agreement and the schedule of the project. Is Kevin O’Leary ready? Let’s bring him in. Kevin O’Leary, you find yourself in moments like this as well, being the business guy, but this is the president of the United States going toe to toe with the Fed chairman. What did you make of it? KEVIN O’LEARY, FOUNDER, O’LEARY VENTURES: Well, I know what Charlie was talking about on the Dukakis image out of the tank. It was painful. (LAUGHTER) GASPARINO: We’re the same age, unfortunately. (LAUGHTER) O’LEARY: I got to tell you, whacking the Fed is not a good idea, period. And this is a weird situation with this Fed renovation deal. I mean, Trump, he doesn’t mind letting people watch sausage being made. And that’s what you saw there. But whacking the Fed is not about renovating buildings in Washington. That’s a big deal, because what makes financial markets work globally is the understanding of the balance of the independence of the Fed to make these really important interest rate decisions. And they get it right, they get it wrong. But the fact that they’re independent is what gives comfort to trillions of dollars that comes rolling into the U.S. every year. GASPARINO: Kevin, they got a wrong lot. This guy got it wrong a lot. JONES: Yes. O’LEARY: I know. It doesn’t matter, though, because everybody gets it wrong everywhere all the time. But the point is the independence. GASPARINO: No, this isn’t like — this was big. This was big. Now, I agree with you on the independence, but I think you have to point out. I mean, this doesn’t have to be binary. You can like — love the Fed’s independence and want to preserve it. But we have to be real clear here. Jerome Powell has been a horrendous Fed chair. When you miss inflation, like he did, when you tax the American public like he did with inflation — and, by the way, you’re taxing working-class Americans, because he allowed so much printing of money and then didn’t raise rates later, didn’t condemn Joe Biden for spending money like crazy, which was inflationary, got into weird things from the Fed like DEI and climate change. I mean, they’re supposed to make sure inflation is low within the confines of employment. They have a dual mandate. It’s nothing to do with DEI. You do that, in my view, you’re a horrible Fed Chair.
