Anthony Esposito argued in this interview that Jerome Powell’s strained relationship with President Trump is largely self-inflicted, rooted in what he sees as years of politicized monetary policy decisions. The Ascalon VI Capital CEO framed Powell not as a neutral technocrat but as a Fed chair who repeatedly used interest rates in ways that hurt the economy, the American worker, and, indirectly, Trump himself.
Esposito said Powell first “attacked America” during Trump’s first term by raising rates despite what he described as a textbook healthy economy with strong employment and inflation below 2 percent. According to Esposito, those hikes made no sense for a Fed chair who claims to be data-driven and whose mandate is full employment and price stability, both of which were already in place at the time.
He then walked through Powell’s actions under President Biden, highlighting the rapid 175-basis-point rate cut in early 2020 that brought rates effectively to zero, followed by sharp hikes in 2021 and 2022 as inflation surged into double digits. Esposito blamed those moves for contributing to a regional banking crisis and said the pattern continued when Powell approved a 50-basis-point cut heading into the election, a decision Esposito argued appeared designed to help Democrats, particularly Kamala Harris, rather than respond to economic necessity.
When the discussion turned to the Justice Department’s scrutiny of Powell, Esposito said he did not believe Trump personally orchestrated any subpoena, but also made clear the former president would not object to Powell being questioned. In Esposito’s view, Powell’s testimony before Congress is fair game, and any investigation carries enough legitimacy to avoid being dismissed as pure retribution. His closing takeaway was blunt: Powell may be retiring, but that does not exempt him from answering for decisions that Esposito believes shaped elections as much as they shaped the economy.
