Trump consumed by insane new scandal - Another Day - Brian Tyler Cohen

[TexasTowelie]

BTC: Today, Trump showed his disdain for the weaponization of government by weaponizing the government. This is just another day.

Did you know that despite our best intentions, 80% of people abandon their New Year's resolutions by the second Friday in January? They even call it Quitters Day. Take me, I was determined to get my caffeine intake under control this year, but I only made it to Thursday before I was back to butt chugging Starbucks gingerbread lattes. My point being, we're all human, even Donald Trump, because on Quitter's Day this past Friday, he just couldn't resist caving on his 2026 goal.

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CBS News Detroit Reporter: In a rare video statement, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell revealed the Justice Department served grand jury subpoenas Friday, threatening a criminal indictment related to his congressional testimony last June about renovations at the Fed Office Building.

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BTC: That's right. As much as Trump wanted to kick his 2025 habit of abusing the presidency to settle personal scores, it was just too tempting. He really wanted to pull it off. But then Friday night rolls around, can't sleep, nothing good on TV. Justice Department is just sitting there not launching unwarranted criminal investigations into his enemies. The man isn't made of stone people.

And honestly, can anyone say that this came as a big surprise? Trump hasn't exactly made it a secret how he feels about the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

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Trump: He's not a smart person. I don't even think he's that political. I think he hates me, but that's okay. You know, he should. He should. I call him every name in the book trying to get him to do something.

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Trump: We have a bad uh Fed uh chairman. Really bad. If he would lower the rates, if he would lower the rates, and I tried being nice to the guy, it doesn't help. He's like a knucklehead. Oh, he's a knucklehead. Stupid guy.

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Trump: We have an incompetent head of the Fed. He's incompetent. I call him Jerome Too Late. He's always too late, Jerome Too Late Powell. But he's out of there in another couple of months. We'll be very happy about that.

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Trump: The guy's just incompetent. I mean, there's nothing you can do about it. He's just a very incompetent man. But we're going to probably bring a lawsuit against him.

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BTC: Okay. Okay. Jesus. I haven't heard Trump say such shitty things about a guy since he gave a toast at Eric's 40th birthday. And the only time he went off worse than that was when he gave a toast at Eric's wedding. And the only speech he gave that was meaner than that was on the day that Eric was born. My god, how is it even possible to hate a baby that much?

But Trump hasn't always been such a Powell hater. In fact, it was actually Trump himself who appointed Jerome Powell to run the Federal Reserve back in 2017. So why has Trump soured on the Fed chair? Powell's pretty sure that he knows and he said as much this morning.

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Powell: The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public rather than following the preferences of the president. I have served at the Federal Reserve under four administrations, Republicans and Democrats alike. In every case, I have carried out my duties without political fear or favor.

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BTC: Okay, if Jerome Powell has honestly served under four administrations without political fear or favor, I guess the real question isn't why Trump wants to fire him now, but why he ever hired him in the first place? Seriously, when it comes to working for Donald Trump, not a lot can disqualify you. You can be abusive {Hegseth}, racist {Steven Miller}, even borderline insane {RFK Jr.}, but serving without political fear or favor is where Trump draws the line. The only trait more likely to disqualify you in Donald Trump's eyes would be to have a normal looking face {Guilfoyle, Gaetz, Noem}.

The truth is, after nearly a year of trying and failing to strongarm the Fed Chair into lowering interest rates, Trump is lashing out. Ask anyone. Anyone that is, except Trump himself.

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NBC News Reporter: In a phone interview with NBC News Sunday night, President Trump denied having any knowledge of an investigation or that he would use one to pressure Powell. [Trump], "No, I wouldn't even think of doing it that way." the president told me.

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BTC: (in an affected offended tone) What? Use a federal investigation to punish an adversary. Why? I would never dream of it. And frankly, I'd like to know where the hell you get off. I mean, really, this is rich. What gives you the right to hurl such vile, slanderous accusations?
{image of Adam Schiff displayed}
Okay, but what else?
{image of Letitia James displayed}
Okay, but what else?

Obviously, this is right on the first page of the Trump administration's playbook. Still, he's been pounding Diet Coke in the Oval Office long enough to know that you don't just come right out and say it. Instead, he's making it all about an over budget renovation to the headquarters of the Central Bank

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CBS News Detroit Reporter: The Trump administration has criticized the project, estimated at $2.5 billion, as costly and ostentatious.

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BTC: I'm sorry. He criticized the project for being costly and ostentatious, as in he said those were a bad thing. Because if you asked me to define the Trump aesthetic in two words, costly and ostentatious would be the words. Seriously, has Trump seen how Trump decorates?

Also, I'm sorry, but can we just savor the delicious irony that the president who bulldozed an entire wing of the White House without permission, whose pathetic party room pet project is already $200 million over budget, is going after someone else for improper building renovations? Like, what's next? Will he accuse Powell of taking over the Venezuelan Fed without permission from Congress or of deporting foreign students who criticize Powell's dealings with the World Bank?

The projection here is incredible. It's like when someone does everything they can to undercut LGBT rights because they're afraid {Lindsey Graham}. Afraid that if they don't, if for one single second they let their guard down and stop being vile and loathsome to the entire gay population, people might suddenly start to notice them and wonder could he be could he possibly be? No. I mean, the only woman in his life appears to be his sister. Like even when he ran for president, she kind of stepped into the first lady role. But no, right?

Not for nothing, but the Fed actually blames tariffs and inflation for the project's ballooning budget, which I don't know, seems like Trump had something to do with, but who cares? Either way, we can't be lighting taxpayer dollars on fire for some fancy building, regardless of whose fault it is, right?

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Getting Answers Reporter: The Trump administration says it's prioritizing investigating any abuse of taxpayer dollars, but the Federal Reserve is self-funded and an independent agency.

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BTC: Okay, honestly, what the actual fuck are we doing here? Trump is going after how a self-funded agency spends funds that aren't even taxpayer dollars. Look, everybody knows that this is an affront to the independence of the Federal Reserve. It's one of the few issues that Democrats and Republicans can actually agree on.

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Sen. Elizabeth Warren: Donald Trump has already said repeatedly publicly that anyone he appoints to be Chair of the Fed will be somebody who agrees with Donald Trump all the time. In other words, Donald Trump has publicly announced he wants a sock puppet running the Fed.

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NBC News Reporter: Republican Tom Tillis vowing to “oppose the confirmation of any nominee for the Fed, including the upcoming Fed chair vacancy, until this legal matter is fully resolved.”

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Maria Bartiromo: A lot of people are looking at this and saying, "Well, wait a second. We know President Trump does not like J. Powell, and we know that he's calling him stupid and that he hasn't cut rates fast enough. So, is this political or did J. Powell break the law and mislead or lie to the Senate Banking Committee? And you say?”

Sen. Roger Marshall: "Well, Maria, we'll let the let the system play through here." Uh, I think there's other issues that we should be focused on. And I think this is the president throwing out one more uh maybe he's even almost trolling here as well. We got bigger issues to to go after than this one though.”

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BTC: Trump's just trolling. Some people use the comment section. Some people use the Justice Department. We work with what we've got.

We all know that Donald Trump wants to push out Jerome Powell so he can install some figurehead that he can control at the Fed. The question is why on earth should we let him? Every problem that Trump is hoping to fix by usurping the Fed is a problem that Trump himself has either created or made worse as president. High prices, an affordability crisis, inflation, that's all been exacerbated by Trump himself. In fact, all the shit hitting the fan is.

Everything he rails against and every unhinged speech or crazy Truth Social post has been created or worsened because of his mismanagement. The Epstein files, government corruption, a lack of law and order, mistrust in law enforcement. Donald, as another one of your enemies points out, you're the problem. It's you. And since you clearly don't know what the fuck you're doing, it seems like we shouldn't be giving you more power. We should be giving you less. Wouldn't you say?

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NBC News Reporter: “No, I wouldn't even think of doing it that way,” the president told me.

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BTC: "Of course you wouldn't."