President Donald Trump publicly scorned Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell on Thursday for the cost of an extensive building renovation as the two officials began a tour of the unfinished project.
Trump said the project cost $3.1 billion, much higher than the Fed’s $2.5 billion figure, while Powell, standing next to him, silently shook his head, before telling the president that he wasn’t ‘aware of that’, adding: “I haven’t heard that from anybody at the Fed.”
The president then pulled out a document from his pocket and handed it to Powell to read.
“This came from us?” Powell said. He then realized that Trump was referring to the renovation of the Martin Building, which had been completed five years prior.
“Do you expect any more additional cost overruns?” Trump asked, to which Powell replied: “Don’t expect them.”
The very awkward encounter has since got people talking online, with one person even comparing it to a scene from The Office.
Sharing a snippet of the heated exchange, someone said on Twitter: “This could literally pass as a scene straight from The Office.“
“INCREDIBLE,” a different person replied to the post. “I AM LITERALLY DYING OF LAUGHTER.”
Meanwhile, somebody else pointed out that it’s ‘so rare to see someone tell him he’s wrong’.
Trump alleged that the cost of the current Fed renovations have surpassed $3 billion (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“The entire video is so odd from when he walks in.” another added.
Doubling down on the The Office reference, someone commented: “Donald Trump makes Michael Scott look like a genius.”
The pair’s recent exchange comes after Trump branded Powell a ‘numbskull’ on Truth Social amid the ongoing pressure Powell’s facing from the president to lower interest rates.
While Trump berated Powell in the post, he says he doesn’t plan on firing him from his position as Chair.
Following his visit to the Fed renovation site yesterday (July 24), Trump told a reporter who questioned if Powell’s at risk of being let go, as per USA Today: “To do that is a big move and I just don’t think it’s necessary.
“And I believe he’s going to do the right thing… It may be a little too late, as the expression goes, but I believe he’s going to do the right thing.”
