President Donald Trump, after filing a $20 billion lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal over a story alleging Trump gave Jeffrey Epstein a lewd birthday note more than two decades ago, disputed the newspaper’s coverage on a separate topic.
On Saturday, the Journal published an article with the headline “How Bessent Made the Case to Trump Against Firing Fed Chair Powell.”
According to the story, Trump’s Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, told the president that “firing” Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve System, “was unnecessary because the economy is doing well and markets have responded positively to the president’s policies.” In addition, Bessent warned Trump of “the possible effects on the economy and markets” of firing Powell, and “the likely political and legal obstacles that such a move would face,” per the Journal story.
Trump claimed the WSJ report was false in a post on Truth Social.
“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 wrote Sunday 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. 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!”
Trump appointed Powell as chairman of the Federal Reserve in 2017.
Last week, Trump showed a letter he had drafted to fire Powell to several House Republicans to get their feedback and “indicat[ed] that he likely would” fire the Fed chairman, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, July 16, citing anonymous sources. After other media reports corroborated the account, Trump told reporters later that day that he would not “rule out anything but I think it’s highly unlikely” Powell would be dismissed “unless he has to leave for fraud.”
Trump’s complaint about the Journal’s story about Bessent and Powell comes after he filed a lawsuit Friday (July 18) against the WSJ, parent companies Dow Jones & Co. and News Corp, Rupert Murdoch and two Journal reporters. According to that article, Trump wrote a 2003 birthday letter to Epstein — the disgraced financier who was convicted child sex offender — that contained suggestive language. Trump denied writing the letter to Epstein and called the letter “fake.” The Journal quoted Trump as saying, “This is not me. This is a fake thing. It’s a fake Wall Street Journal story.”
Trump’s lawsuit, alleging two counts of defamation, seeks at least $20 billion in total monetary damages. A Dow Jones rep said, “We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting, and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit.”
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