U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized the head of the central bank, Jerome Powell. Now, Trump apparently sought to expose him on camera but ended up embarrassing himself in an awkward scene. During a joint tour of the renovation works at the Federal Reserve building in Washington, Trump confronted Powell with alleged new figures about the increasing renovation costs. 

Trump claimed on Thursday night, in front of the cameras, that the restructuring costs had now risen to $3.1 billion (€2.6 billion). Previously, the president had criticized the rising expenses, but had only mentioned $2.5 billion. Powell quickly responded to Trump’s claim: “I haven’t heard that from anyone before,” he explained to the president, who was standing right next to him (see video above).

Looking at a letter Trump handed him, Powell visibly shook his head and stated: “This is a building that has already been constructed. It was completed five years ago.” Trump suddenly adopts a softer tone While touring the Fed building renovation site, Trump softened his stance with the Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve. The president assured reporters that “there were no tensions” and suggested that the rising cost of the Fed building's remodeling was unlikely to be a valid reason to fire the central bank chief. Nonetheless, Trump made it clear that he still sees lower interest rates as an urgent issue.

He had repeatedly called for cuts in key interest rates, and had harshly criticized Powell several times in that context. Because Powell refused to comply, Trump even threatened to fire him. However, Trump now stated that such a dismissal is “a big step, and I just don’t think it’s necessary.” Still, removing a central bank governor is extremely difficult in the United States: it requires a “serious cause.” Legally, the question of whether a U.S. president can dismiss the head of the central bank remains unresolved. Powell’s term as Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve ends next May.