Economist Steve Moore Unloads On Fed Chair Jerome Powell Over ‘Outrageous Partisan Attack’ Against Trump

Economist Steve Moore on Wednesday criticized Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell for delivering what he called a blatantly biased speech against President Donald Trump.

In his April 16 speech at the Economic Club of Chicago, Powell warned that Trump’s tariffs would probably cause inflation to surge temporarily at a minimum. Moore, on “CNN News Central,” said Powell’s remarks angered Trump supporters, accusing the Fed chair of overlooking the beneficial effects Trump has had on the economy.

WATCH:

“With respect to Jerome Powell, I would say that we were all outraged — that is, those who favor Trump — by the speech that was given by Jerome Powell last week,” Moore said. “I’ve been following this for 40 years. I thought it was the most outrageous partisan attack against a new president that I’ve ever seen.”

“And I think it was out of bounds. And it didn’t take into account all the positive things that Trump [is] doing on the economy,” he continued. “People like myself were saying how Jerome Powell has to go. But the markets clearly don‘t want Jerome Powell out. They don’t want him out right now.”

Trump announced Tuesday in the Oval Office that he has “no intention” of firing Powell from his position. The announcement followed Trump’s Thursday Truth Social post saying, “Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!”

CNN anchor Brianna Keilar responded to Moore that Powell was mirroring the sentiment of numerous economists and that he seemed to be “straight shooting” in the speech. Moore said her claim was reasonable, but that Powell treated former President Joe Biden’s economic policies more favorably.

“That’s a fair point. You know, a lot of the economists and a lot of the businesses were saying, you know, these policies were harmful. But my god, I mean, Joe Biden came in and spent $5 trillion, sent inflation up to, you know, 25% increase in prices,” he said. “Jerome Powell never made that kind of speech against the — in fact, he accommodated Biden’s policies. So I think that’s something that really angered us. I mean, I challenge you to find anything that Jerome Powell ever said criticizing Biden’s reckless policies.”

Keilar said Powell expressed “concerns about inflation” under Biden.

“Jerome Powell was the one who allowed the inflation to go up by 9% in 2022, which was the highest rate of inflation we’ve had in 30 years,” Moore added. “And so it’s hard to defend what he did back then in my opinion.”

The CNN anchor acknowledged that “massive spending” occurred under the former president, but defended Powell and the Biden administration’s efforts to stave off a recession, saying they navigated a “soft landing.”

Fed officials such as Powell asserted that consumer price increases would probably be temporary, The Associated Press reported in June 2021.

“We have to be clear about that. That doesn’t mean that people weren’t hurt by economic policy, to be clear,” she added.

Wholesale prices in the U.S. unexpectedly decreased by 0.4% in March, largely driven by a significant decline in energy costs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on April 11.

Egg prices have plunged over 46% since the start of 2025 as of Wednesday, according to Trade Economics, which cites the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Inflation further cooled in March as the consumer price index (CPI) increased only 2.4% and beat economists’ expectations. Moreover, on a month-over-month basis, prices fell 0.1% in March, the first monthly CPI decrease since May 2020, according to an April 10 BLS report.