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President Donald Trump slammed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday ahead of the central bank’s interest rate decision, calling him “a stupid person.” “We have a stupid person, frankly, at the Fed,” Trump said. “He probably won’t cut.” Since Trump took office, the European Central Bank (ECB) has cut interest rates three times. Jerome […] The post Jerome Powell Won’t Lower Interest Rates: He’s a “Stupid Person,” “Too Late Powell” appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

The Federal Reserve voted to leave the benchmark interest rate between 4.25% and 4.5%, despite the economy’s “solid position.” “For the time being, we are well-positioned to wait to learn more about the likely course of the economy before considering any adjustments to our policy stance,” Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in a press conference following the decision. The Consumer Price Index rose 2.4% in May, up from 2.3% in April — its lowest point in four years, The Daily Wire previously reported. “Inflation remains somewhat elevated,” the Federal Reserve said today in a press release. “Uncertainty about the economic outlook has diminished but remains elevated.” Earlier today, President Donald Trump said the Federal Reserve “probably won’t cut.” “We have a stupid person, frankly, at the Fed,” Trump said. “I guess he’s a political guy, I don’t know. He’s a political guy who’s not a smart person.” Powell said the Federal Open Market Committee’s stance is “not complicated.” “What everyone on the FOMC wants is a good, solid American economy with strong labor market and price stability, that’s what we want,” Powell said. “That’s what matters to us. That’s pretty much all that matters to us.” Powell said the country could still see negative economic effects from tariffs. “Expectations of that [tariff] level, and thus of the related economic effects, reached a peak in April and have since declined,” Powell said in a press conference following the decision. “Even so, increases in tariffs this year are likely to push up prices and weigh on economic activity.” The CPI has shown little impacts from Trump’s tariffs over the past three months, The Daily Wire previously reported. The index for food increased slightly compared to April, but the indexes for energy and gas decreased by 1% and 2.6%, respectively. Powell said the Federal Reserve still expects to see impacts from tariffs this summer. “It takes some time for tariffs to work their way through the chain of distribution to the end consumer,” Powell said. “We’re beginning to see some effects, and we do expect to see more of them over the coming months.” But he said the ultimate effects of tariffs are “highly uncertain.” Trump also said he would not reappoint Powell. “I would have never reappointed him, Biden reappointed him,” Trump said. “He’s done a very poor job. So we have no inflation, we have only success, and I’d like to see interest rates get down.” Despite maintaining interest rates, Powell said the economy shows no sign of weakening. “The U.S. economy has defied all kinds of forecasts for it to weaken, really, over the last three years,” Powell said. “Eventually it will, but we don’t see signs of that now.”

Ronnie Winter, lead singer for the band Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, warned followers that he doesn’t want any Trump supporters attending the band’s concerts. The alt-rock singer posted his views in an Instagram video, insisting that anyone who supports President Trump wouldn’t appreciate the “actual words of Jesus” and “acceptance” they’d experience at a show. “Just doing a quick little PSA. I thought I was pretty clear about all this stuff in 2020,” Winter says in the opening of the video. “As you notice on my Instagram, I did not remove any of that stuff from the Stay Woke campaign, I guess you guys are calling it, from 2020. Look, man, the thing about being woke is: you’re awake, and once you’re awake, you can never go to sleep. And not only has nothing changed but everything they said was going to happen, the woke people, has happened. You have done nothing but prove them right.” His rant continues with professions of faith and how he believes Christianity conflicts with following Trump.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Ronnie Winter Defoe (@theronniewinter) “So, here it is again, in case somehow you missed it: Hi, I’m Ronnie Winter. I sing for the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, and I actually follow what Jesus says. If you’re a Christian and you’re watching this and you voted for Donald Trump, shame on you. You are not allowed to come to my shows. I don’t want you there. Don’t come to my shows. It’s awesome that you love ‘Face Down’; it’s not for you. It’s not your song, OK? It is not your song.” “If you voted for Donald Trump, do not come to my shows, ever, not just like these four years,” Winter declares.  He goes on, “Don’t come to my shows because you’re going to hear a lot of woke propaganda, and you’re going to hear the actual words of Jesus, and you’re going to see a lot of acceptance from all areas of life and races, and you’re just going to see a lot of, like, harmony. OK? That’s not what you’re about, OK? Don’t come. Refunds are available. Forever, don’t come. Goodbye.” Clips of the video started circulating on social media, with many people questioning the relevance of the band, whose best known song “Face Down” debuted in 2006. “Who?” one commenter asked. “Bold move from a band most people forgot existed,” another said. “Forgot? I never heard of them, never,” a third commenter echoed. The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus formed in Middleburg, Florida, in 2003. Besides “Face Down,” they haven’t had any major mainstream hits. 

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, who has been criticizing Trump over the Middle East conflict, called him to “apologize” for saying things “that were a little bit too strong.” Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump addressed the ongoing debate among some on the Right about the conflict between Israel and Iran. He dismissed a question that suggested the Israeli strikes are “dividing” his supporters. “No, my supporters are for me. My supporters are for America First and Make America Great Again,” Trump said. “My supporters don’t want to see Iran have a nuclear weapon. Tucker’s a nice guy. He called and apologized the other day because he thought he said things that were a little bit too strong.” Trump’s comments came after Carlson interviewed Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) over foreign policy in a discussion that quickly turned into a heated debate on Israel and Iran during an episode of Carlson’s podcast that was released on Wednesday. The president added that “Ted Cruz is a nice guy. He’s been with me for a long time.” Trump said that “nobody thinks it’s okay” for Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon. “I don’t want a fight, either. I’m not looking for a fight,” Trump said. “But if it’s a choice between fighting and them having a nuclear weapon, you have to do what you have to do. And maybe we won’t have to fight. Don’t forget, we haven’t been fighting. We add a certain amount of genius to everything, but we haven’t been fighting.” ?NEW — President Trump says Tucker Carlson called him and apologized: "Tucker's a nice guy. He called and apologized…because he thought he said things that were a little bit too strong." "If they think that it's okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, then they should oppose… pic.twitter.com/GEz1WjYlRx — Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 18, 2025 Earlier this week, Carlson said Trump was “complicit in an act of war” after Israel struck military targets and nuclear facilities in Iran. Carlson added in his newsletter that “This Could Be the Final Newsletter Before All-Out War.” Trump responded to Carlson’s criticism, writing on Truth Social on Monday, “Somebody please explain to kooky Tucker Carlson that, ‘IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!’” In another statement responding to criticism over his allegiance to an “America First” foreign policy, Trump said earlier this week, “Well, considering that I’m the one that developed ‘America First,’ and considering that the term wasn’t used until I came along, I think I’m the one that decides that. For those people who say they want peace—you can’t have peace if Iran has a nuclear weapon. So for all of those wonderful people who don’t want to do anything about Iran having a nuclear weapon—that’s not peace.” Cruz ripped Carlson earlier on Wednesday, arguing that he has gone “bat crap crazy” in adopting “hardcore isolationist” views. Carlson, meanwhile, criticized Cruz during their interview for not knowing the population of Iran, as the senator calls for regime change in the radical Islamic country. “I want to stop a lunatic who wants to murder us from getting nuclear weapons that could kill millions of Americans,” Cruz told Carlson. “Fair,” Carlson responded.

On Wednesday, I had a pretty incredible experience. I went to the Vatican for an event at St. Peter’s Square that’s held every Wednesday when the Pope holds a general audience. It’s an amazing event. There are tens of thousands of people — divided by country of origin — who gather in St. Peter’s Square from all over the world. It’s a reminder that godly, Biblical values are the guiding force for billions of people around the world. The world seems like a very dark place from time to time, but the reality is that if you stick to eternal values, it does make the world a brighter place. The Pope came in his vehicle, drove around, greeted the entire audience, and then he came up in the center of St. Peter’s Square, right in front of the basilica, and gave an address about the Bible which was read out loud in a variety of different languages. I got to sit up there near where the Pope was. What the Pope said was quite beautiful. He quoted from the Book of John, the story about the Pool of Bethesda, in which Jesus goes to the Pool of Bethesda, where there are people who are ill and people who are paralyzed. There’s a man there who’s been sick and infirm for 38 years. And Jesus goes to that man and he tells him that he ought to get up, take his mat with him, and walk. And the Pope said we should all reflect on Jesus’ statement. At that moment when we feel stuck and trapped in a dead end, instead of allowing that to become an excuse for others to take care of us, we should not allow this to become a justification to avoid making decisions about our lives. Instead, we should get away from fatalism and embrace personal responsibility. It is these kinds of messages that are implicit in the Biblical narrative that the Pope is spreading, and that is a wonderful thing for our civilization. WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show I’ve talked about this before — I’m an Orthodox Jew. Obviously. I don’t have a dog in the fight when it comes to internal battles over doctrine in Catholicism, except to the extent that the Catholic Church remains a lodestone for Western civilization, a great spreader of Biblical values to humanity. In the same way, there are Protestant churches that do the same. People of God, people of the book, people of the Bible are spreading eternal values. It is worth acknowledging that and honoring that. That’s actually what I said to the Pope when I had an opportunity to meet him. I handed him a letter asking for an interview and introduced myself. You’re supposed to bring the Pope a gift. I explained who I was. (Obviously, he has a lot of things to do, so I doubt he’s a regular listener to my show.) At this point, I explained to him that I was there to pay honor to the fact that he was representative of biblical values in the world. Then I added, “I happen to have been a devout White Sox fan since the time I was a child.” Of course, Pope Leo is a White Sox fan. He recently spoke at Comiskey Park via video to some 30,000 people. I told him that while he is Catholic and I am Jewish, one of the miracles that we can agree on is the 2005 White Sox winning the World Series. I brought with me from my personal collection a 2005 World Series White Sox baseball signed by the entire team, and gave it to him. He seemed a little bit surprised, not by the fact that I was giving a gift, but because it was a gift and not just me showing him something cool, I suppose. You could see him crack a bit of a smile as he received it. He was pretty delighted by it. So it was really a terrific experience. Honestly, the entire event was amazing. It was an honor to meet His Holiness, @Pontifex in Vatican City today, and to thank him for standing up for Biblical values in a chaotic world…and to present him with a signed 2005 White Sox World Series baseball I had in my collection (we’re both fans). pic.twitter.com/hxlhUnKU7F — Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) June 18, 2025 My impression of him is that Pope Leo seems to be a man who has enmeshed himself in the office. And when you meet the Pope, you can see he’s a deeply humble man. You can tell that right away just from meeting him. And you could see the sheer joy that he had, I think, from getting the baseball, which is such a small thing for this man who has the weight of the spiritual fate of over a billion people on his shoulders. I share that because there are a lot of moments in the political world that are not uplifting. There are a lot of moments that are fraught, that feel as though darkness is encroaching. And so, there needs to be a meeting of the minds between all of us who believe in Biblical values, and that those Biblical values ought to be purveyed. It’s one of the reasons why I have encouraged people who are Catholic to go to church, people who are Protestant to go to church, and Jews to go to synagogue and relearn their traditions and engage with those traditions. I’m very much in favor of the strengthening of the Catholic Church and the strengthening of Protestant churches all over the United States and the rest of the West. I’m very much in favor of people reengaging with the values that made the West what it was in the first place.

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) choked up on Tuesday while recounting his brief detention last week after interrupting a news conference being held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Los Angeles — a disruption that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) slammed as “disrespectful political theatre.” In remarks on the Senate floor, Padilla appeared to get emotional as he spoke about what happened from his point of view. “You’ve seen the video. I was pushed and pulled, struggled to maintain my balance. I was forced to the ground — first on my knees and then flat on my chest,” Padilla lamented. “And as I was handcuffed and marched down a hallway, repeatedly asking, ‘Why am I being detained?’, not once did they tell me why.” Alex Padilla fake cries while explaining how law enforcement protected DHS Secretary Noem from a no-name Senator interrupting her press conference. pic.twitter.com/RqdJth2YVY — Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 17, 2025 Padilla went on to say that “a lot of questions” came to his mind, including where was he being taken, was he being arrested there, and “what would a city already on edge from being militarized think when they see their United States senator being handcuffed just for trying to ask a question?” DHS dismissed the notion that Padilla merely spoke out as Noem was informing the public about the Trump administration’s troop deployment to Los Angeles in response to violent anti-ICE protests. BREAKING: California Democratic Senator @AlexPadilla4CA just crashed DHS Secretary Noem’s press conference in LA and was forcibly removed. pic.twitter.com/Q2sUWiImAM — Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) June 12, 2025 “Senator Padilla chose disrespectful political theatre and interrupted a live press conference without identifying himself or having his Senate security pin on as he lunged toward Secretary Noem,” DHS said on X. “Mr. Padilla was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers’ repeated commands,” the agency added. “[The Secret Service] thought he was an attacker and officers acted appropriately. Secretary Noem met with Senator Padilla after and held a 15 minute meeting.” Democrats have been in an uproar over what happened to Padilla, going as far as to demand an investigation and for Noem to resign from her post. Republicans have largely been more measured in their response. “Why don’t both sides own up to the fact that they both own some responsibility for what happened there? Sen. Padilla should have found a better way to elevate his concerns to the Secretary of Homeland Security, rather than going in there and having that dust-up,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) said on Wednesday. .@SenThomTillis on @SenAlexPadilla: “Why don’t both sides own up to the fact that they both own some responsibility for what happened there? Senator Padilla should have found a better way to elevate his concerns to the Secretary of Homeland Security, rather than going in there… pic.twitter.com/HrKl3Abo9D — CSPAN (@cspan) June 18, 2025 “Having said that, there were clearly people in that building that knew he was a U.S. senator, so the minute he was removed from that situation in that briefing room, then they should have treated him with respect, and allowed him to disperse,” Tillis added. “It was disgusting to me to see somebody wrestled to the floor, anybody, but particularly a U.S. senator that’s in a federal building.”

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