President Trump responded angrily on Sunday to a Wall Street Journal story that Treasury Department Secretary Scott Bessent had personally sought to talk him out of trying to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Trump, who is currently suing the Journal over its reporting on his relationship with the late Jeffrey Epstein, has been aggressively trying to fire Powell over his handling of interest rates. Legal scholars do not believe Trump has the authority to oust the Fed chair unilaterally, and reports that he might try to do so have shaken Wall Street in recent days.
“The Wall Street Journal ran a typically untruthful story today by saying that Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, explained to me that firing Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell, the Worst Federal Reserve Chairman in History, would be bad for the Market,” Trump said in a Sunday post on Truth Social.
“Nobody had to explain that to me. I know better than anybody what’s good for the Market, and what’s good for the U.S.A,” he added. “If it weren’t for me, the Market wouldn’t be at Record Highs right now, it probably would have CRASHED! So, get your information CORRECT. People don’t explain to me, I explain to them!”
When reached for comment, the Fed said it doesn’t “have anything to share.”
Trump sued the Journal for alleged defamation Friday after the newspaper published a story describing a letter he reportedly sent to Epstein for his 50th birthday.
The Journal reported that the birthday message, which has what appears to be Trump’s signature, was typed inside the outline of a naked woman.
“A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret,” it reportedly read.
Trump’s legal complaint said the story has caused “overwhelming financial and reputational harm” for the president, pressing for billions of dollars in damages.
“Defendants concocted this story to malign President Trump’s character and integrity and deceptively portray him in a false light,” the lawsuit said.
Trump has for weeks been trying to tamp down growing calls — including from some of his strongest supporters — for a full release of the federal government’s files on Epstein, who died of an apparent suicide in a Manhattan prison in 2019.
Multiple members of the Trump administration had previously embraced conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein, but earlier this month, the administration said that the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender had indeed killed himself, and that he didn’t keep a “client list.”
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