Jerome Powell addresses the nation: “Why don’t you people just figure it out?”
Lorna Blotfarrow is a reporter for Inside of Business Magazine. She covers scandals, cash cows, business news, and whatever fallout is still happening from the U.S invasion of Iraq.
On Tuesday morning, Jerome “Jay” Powell, 16th chair of the United States Federal Reserve, drew ire from Americans for a livestreamed address to the nation. Following a string of volatile trade policies announced by Trump’s administration, Mr. Powell took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to express his concerns for the economy. The chairman seemed to be chewing an Ashwagandha gummy while speaking:
“Tariffs this, tariffs that. Has anyone put a tariff on asking how I’m doing?” Mr. Powell cried. He continued with manic fervor: “Because that’s what it fricken seems like.”
Trump’s administration has oscillated between aggressive tariffs and sudden rollbacks, which has left the Federal Reserve with lingering uncertainty. Especially disquieting is what economists call “Inflation Expectation”; a psychological phenomenon whereby widespread fear of rising prices can influence behavior and contribute to inflation itself. Because announcements of tariffs have been rapid and consistently unclear, the Fed is unsure how consumers will respond—consumer sentiment being a gauge economists use to assess spending, prices, and in general, the state of the economy. According to Federal Reserve officials, widespread anxiety—despite an otherwise steady economy in May—could stoke inflationary pressures and ultimately force the Fed to raise interest rates.
In Tuesday’s livestream, Mr. Powell seemed utterly disempowered by a tariff-induced whiplash. He also expressed a startling fixation on public opinion: “You guys are gonna hate me,” Mr. Powell, clutching his grey hair, wept, “I really just want you to like me.” After taking what was definitely another Ashwagandha gummy, he continued, suddenly growing furious: “You people think you’re soooo smart. Why don’t you just figure it out?”
Users on X came flooding in with responses. One user wrote, “I s2g if you raise those mf rates bruh” while another posted, “lift your chin up king!! Nothing is thart [sic] srs…”. Someone with the handle @NotJanetYellen also contributed saying: “can you respond to my text about Fri, Jay?”
Mr. Powell’s livestream indicates that financial uncertainty transcends the laymen and haunts even the greatest titans of our economy. One thing is for certain: no one knows what the hell we’re gonna do.