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Recently, Donald Trump attempted to turn a visit to the Federal Reserve’s construction site into a reality TV spectacle. Accompanied by Chair Jerome Powell, the former president aimed to spotlight what he perceived as financial mismanagement, but his foray quickly revealed a lack of understanding and preparation.
In a moment that would make any political strategist cringe, Trump blurted out, “Look and, uh. It looks like it’s about 3.1 billion. It went up a little bit or a lot. Uh, so the 2.7 is now 3.1.”
Powell, caught off guard, calmly responded, “I’m not aware of that.”
Undeterred, Trump insisted, “Yeah, it just came out. Yeah.”
To which Powell replied, “I haven’t heard that from anybody.”
In classic Trump fashion, he persisted, “The FED, it just came out.”
At this juncture, Senator Tim Scott chimed in with a slightly more supportive note, stating, “Our notes had about 3.1 as well. 3.31, 3.2.”
Powell, holding a piece of paper handed to him by Trump, inquired, “This came from us?”
As the narrative began to unravel, Trump clung to his claim, “Yes. I don’t know who does that.”
Powell, however, was not to be misled. He pointed out, “Are you including the Martin renovation you just added? That’s on entire capital. You just added in the third building is what that is.”
