'Publicly spanked': Mockery abounds as Trump fails to 'bully' Powell in shocking presser
The internet lit up Thursday afternoon as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell gave President Donald Trump a stunning fact-check during a tour of the renovated Federal Reserve headquarters.
Trump insisted that the project's total cost had soared from $2.7 billion to $3.1 billion, a figure that Powell said he "didn't hear from anyone at the Fed." Trump then handed Powell a piece of paper that supposedly showed where the cost overruns occurred, to which Powell scoffed and told Trump his figures include a renovation project that ended five years ago.
The exchange sent shockwaves across the internet, with several analysts sharing their thoughts on social media.
"Holy s---! Jerome Powell just showed more courage than the entire White House press corps combined," Bill Madden, a musician and progressive activist, posted on X. "Trump, who NEVER gets any pushback from the press when he lies, just got publicly spanked by someone who is not taking any of his bull---- — Jerome Powell."
"How does Jerome Powell comfortably walk around with balls that big?" progressive political YouTuber Jack Cocchiarella posted on X.
"Remarkable moment between Trump and Powell," CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins wrote on X.
"Jerome Powell just fact checked Trump TO HIS FACE and he clearly wasn’t happy about it…," progressive activist Harry Sisson posted on X.
"The idea that Jerome Powell is the 'project manager' on the Fed renovation is so extraordinarily stupid," author James Surowiecki posted on X.
Even business owners who have previously disagreed with Powell came to his defense.
"I’ve disagreed with almost everything Jerome Powell has done since 2021," Spencer Hakimian, founder of Tolou Capital Management, posted on X. "But I stand strongly behind him today."
Investigative reporter Jonathan Sher wrote on X, "Donald Trump tries to bully Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, with lies -- but Powell fires back, exposing Trump's deceit. Trump is the greatest threat in my lifetime to American democracy and global peace and prosperity."