President Donald Trump has renewed calls for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, just hours ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) key decision on the benchmark rate, currently set between 4.25% and 4.5%.

In an address during a Flagpole installation ceremony at the White House, Trump urged Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to embark on drastic rate cuts in the reasoning that lower rates would lower the cost of borrowing by the government.

The remarks were sprinkled with the comment by him, that, we could purchase debt at a vastly smaller amount.

Trump Criticizes Powell Over Rate Policies

A headline policy announcement by FOMC is anticipated at 2:00 p.m. ET today, and a Powell press conference scheduled at 2:30 p.m. ET is set to follow. Currently, the economic figures indicate that the central bank will leave its current rates unchanged, and CME Fedwatch data depicts a 99.9% chance in an increase.

Although Trump lobbied the Fed to drop down a rate cut, he made it known that he does not believe the Fed is going to do it today. He also returned to his attacks on Powell labeling the Fed Chairman as being not a smart guy and he has been mismanaging the monetary policy.

Donald Trump Demands Rate Cuts as FOMC Decision Nears

Trump said they ought to be two points cheaper and then he added that 2.5 points would be even better. Trump even further accused Fed of being too late in reacting to the economic situations and urged the central bank to reduce the rates to a considerable extent in the long term.

Though he did not mention Powell firing, Trump did say he referred to the Fed chief with expletives, calling him “every name in the book” in an attempt to get the Fed to lower rates.

Trump said, “He simply declined,” which indicates Powell is not following his political course. In a lighthearted jab, the President joked about appointing himself to the Federal Reserve, stating, “I’d do a better job than Powell and the FOMC.”