"Can't Trust Powell" American Trust Level Still in the 30% Range

Trust in Jerome Powell, Chairman of the Federal Reserve (Fed) who leads U.S. monetary policy, remains near historically low levels. Although it has slightly increased compared to a year ago when he was tagged as the lowest-rated chairman since the 2000s due to delayed response to inflation, it still remains only in the high 30% range.

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According to a Gallup poll conducted on the 7th (local time), which surveyed 1,001 U.S. adults last month regarding trust in economic leaders, only 39% responded that they trust Chairman Powell a "great deal" or a "fair amount."

This figure is 3 percentage points higher than last year’s record low of 36% since Gallup began the survey. However, as it falls within the margin of error (±4%), it is still considered that trust in Powell remains at a bottom level. Bloomberg News reported, "Powell is struggling to shed the label of being the lowest-rated Fed chairman since the 2000s," but also noted, "The new survey still shows trust near historic lows."

Powell’s trust rating, which reached 58% during the 2020 pandemic response, sharply declined mainly due to his delayed response to inflation. Critics point out that he initially viewed the soaring inflation in 2022 as temporary and was slow to raise interest rates sharply, resulting in ineffective fulfillment of the central bank’s price stability mandate.

Although he has since launched an aggressive fight against inflation through interest rate hikes, inflation still exceeds the 2% target, and recent concerns about the "last mile"?the final stretch before reaching the goal?have continued to fuel distrust surrounding Powell. Major foreign media outlets have assessed that the U.S. economy is too strong for rate cuts, which poses a dilemma for Powell.

Moreover, the upcoming U.S. presidential election in November is also impacting Powell’s low trust ratings. When looking at responses by political affiliation in this survey, only 30% of Republican supporters trust Powell, while nearly twice as many Democratic supporters, 56%, expressed trust.

Bloomberg News stated, "Powell has repeatedly emphasized that politics and elections have no bearing on Fed decision-making," but also diagnosed that "politics largely drives Powell’s low trust ratings." Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump has claimed that Powell would use his influence to help the Democratic Party win the November election.

Additionally, only 38% responded that they trust President Joe Biden a "great deal" or a "fair amount." Trust in Democratic and Republican leadership among Americans was also low, at 38% and 36%, respectively. Gallup pointed out, "Amid ongoing inflation concerns, none of the major national leaders who could impact the economy have earned the trust of the majority of Americans."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.