The Federal Reserve Blames Trump’s Tariffs—But Don’t Buy the Fed’s Fairy Tales

Trump and Powell’s Public Brawl

In a spectacle worthy of a rigged carnival, Jerome Powell—the Federal Reserve’s unelected high priest of money—told the world he’s blaming Donald Trump’s tariffs for stopping the interest rate cuts that Trump himself has been howling for.

Trump, never one to miss a chance to torch his rivals, declared on Tuesday:

“Anybody would be better than J Powell. He’s costing us a fortune because he keeps the rate way up.”

You could almost hear the applause from the banks—because every quarter-point in rates keeps ordinary Americans shackled to compounding debt.

The Central Bank’s Convenient Excuses

Powell, addressing an exclusive European Central Bank panel in Sintra, Portugal (because of course they all huddle in European villas to decide how expensive your mortgage gets), claimed:

“In effect we went on hold when we saw the size of the tariffs… All inflation forecasts for the United States went up materially as a consequence…”

Translation: We didn’t lift a finger to help you, but we’ll say it’s Trump’s fault so nobody blames us.

When pressed on whether they’d have slashed the Fed funds rate below the already punishing 4.25–4.5% if not for the tariffs, Powell admitted, “I think that’s right.”

You’d think these people were curing cancer, not meddling in every corner of the economy.

Tariffs vs. Trillions in Printed Money

Predictably, economists in their ivory towers parrot the line that tariffs are inflationary. Sure—tariffs do raise costs. But let’s not pretend the Fed’s unprecedented money-printing during the pandemic didn’t drown the dollar in an ocean of cheap credit first. This is like an arsonist blaming a candle for burning the house down.

Powell shrugged:

“We haven’t seen effects much from tariffs, and we didn’t expect to by now… timing and persistence of inflation is highly uncertain…”

If you can’t predict it, why the hell are you in charge of it?

Power Games and Political Theater

Meanwhile, Trump has returned to the White House breathing fire, calling Powell a “major loser” and “very dumb.” These childish barbs might amuse the public, but the real danger is how both sides are obsessed with control—either through executive tantrums or bureaucratic tinkering.

As the eurozone’s Christine Lagarde and the Bank of England’s Andrew Bailey chimed in, everyone agreed: mission not accomplished. Inflation remains a sword hanging over the working class.

The Coming Shake-Up at the Fed

And while the Fed claims independence, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is already licking his chops over a Fed board vacancy in January. He all but admitted they’d consider installing a Powell successor who will toe the new line:

“There’s a seat opening up… perhaps that person would go on to become the chair when Jay Powell leaves.”

Markets are watching this circus nervously. The dollar has already clocked its weakest first half in fifty years—and the real question isn’t whether Trump or Powell wins this pissing contest. It’s whether you have a plan when their recklessness detonates what’s left of the currency in your wallet.

Call to Action:
If you think this is just political theater, you’re missing the bigger threat—central banks, both in Washington and Brussels, are quietly laying the rails for programmable money and a surveillance economy. Don’t wait for the headlines to announce the next crisis. Download “Seven Steps to Protect Yourself from Bank Failure” by Bill Brocius right now. Your independence depends on it.

Get Your Copy Here