Washington, Jan 14 (IANS) US President Donald Trump has sharply criticised Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell as “a lousy Fed chairman” and defended the actions of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent involved in a fatal incident in Minnesota, while rejecting claims of political retaliation.

In an interview with CBS News conducted at a Ford assembly plant on Tuesday, Trump dismissed accusations that a criminal probe involving Powell amounted to retribution for policy disagreements.

“He’s been a lousy Fed chairman,” Trump said, adding that Powell “was reappointed by Biden” despite not having “earned his stripes”.

Trump accused Powell of keeping interest rates too high and said the Fed chief was “too late” in cutting them. He also criticised the cost of renovations at Federal Reserve buildings.

“I think I could have done that job for $25 million,” Trump said, alleging that the project had ballooned into “billions and billions of dollars.” He said Powell was “either corrupt or incompetent”.

Asked directly how the situation might appear to the public, Trump said, “I can’t help what it looks like,” while pointing to what he described as strong economic performance.

“I’ve created the greatest economy maybe in history,” he said, citing manufacturing growth, job creation, and record stock market levels.

In response to a question regarding the killing of Renee Nicole Good in Minnesota by an ICE agent, responding to concerns raised by her father, a supporter of the president, Trump defended ICE actions.

“I would bet you that she, under normal circumstances, was a very solid, wonderful person,” Trump said, while maintaining that her actions were “pretty tough”.

Trump defended ICE enforcement efforts, blaming illegal immigration on policies under former President Joe Biden.

“We have hundreds of thousands of murderers in our countries, killers,” Trump said. “ICE is trying to get them out.”

He said video footage of the incident could be interpreted in different ways and argued that ICE agents were operating under difficult conditions.

On the economy, Trump acknowledged that some Americans continue to feel pressure from higher grocery prices but said inflation had eased significantly since he took office.

“I inherited a mess,” he said. “Now we have the hottest country in the world.”

Trump also defended his approach to manufacturing and labour, praising the expansion of US auto plants and saying worker shortages reflected economic strength. He predicted robotics would play a growing role in industry.

“I think that robotics is gonna be great because this country won’t have enough people if we don’t have it,” he said.

Asked about limits on his power, Trump said his actions were guided by morality and constrained by the Constitution.

“I’m a moral person,” he said. “I don’t like seeing death.”

–IANS

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