Trump To NBC: ‘Jerome Powell Hasn’t Done A Good Job’, Obama Was ‘Playing With Funny Money’

America got more of Donald Trump’s interview with Chuck Todd on Sunday morning and, as you can imagine, Jerome Powell and the Fed came up.

The first clips from Todd’s sit-down with the president were released on Friday and featured Trump telling the (possibly tall) tale of conversations he had with “generals” the previous evening when the US was “minutes” away from launching strikes against targets inside Iran.

On the economy, Todd confronts Trump with the same set of facts that Jeff Gundlach often cites – namely that the US economy was creating more jobs during the latter months of the Obama presidency than it’s creating under Trump. Clearly, that doesn’t say much for the “MAGA miracle” narrative and undercuts the president’s claim to having ushered in an economic renaissance.

Surprisingly, Trump didn’t challenge the actual data. You laugh, but prior to becoming president, Trump called America’s jobs numbers fake on at least 19 occasions, with the most memorable example coming in August of 2015, when then-candidate Trump claimed the real unemployment rate was “probably 40% if you think about it.”

When pressed by Todd to explain why the economy was creating more jobs under Obama than it is now, on average, Trump cited “a very low base”. Todd started to ask the right question (“But is this not a continuous ser…”) but stopped, perhaps realizing Trump wouldn’t understand. Here is the clip:

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On Powell, Trump now says he never threatened to demote his Fed chair. “I didn’t ever threaten to demote him”, he claimed. “I have the right to do that. But I haven’t said that”.

That’s a meaningless distinction, as Todd jokingly points out.

In a series of “scoops” released prior to, and immediately after the June Fed meeting, Bloomberg documented discussions inside the White House that reportedly took place in February when, at Trump’s direction, counsel explored options for demoting Powell. Hours after Powell told reporters on Wednesday that he intends to serve his full term, Trump told his advisors he still believes he can demote the Fed chair if necessary.

Read more: It’s Almost Over For Jerome Powell: Trump Says He Has Authority To Replace Fed Chair

Trump also regaled Todd with the familiar story of Powell’s ill-advised decision to proceed apace with balance sheet rundown and rate hikes. When asked, directly, whether this is about reelection, Trump paused before saying “I think the economy is so strong we’re going to bowl through it, but I’m not happy with his actions. I don’t think he’s done a good job.”

He continued, saying that “If [Powell] hadn’t raised rates…Obama was playing with funny money. I’m playing with the real stuff.”

Then, without even a hint of self-reflection, Trump laments that “Obama had somebody who kept rates very low.”

Of course, Trump could have had somebody “who kept rates very low” too.

In fact, he could have had the exact same person. All he had to do was reappoint Janet Yellen.

But, his pride got in the way. And pride, as they say, goeth before a fall.