It turns out there’s a reason Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell always wears a purple tie at his press conferences.
“At the beginning, the only significance was that I liked purple ties,” Powell quipped during a moderated Q&A interview on Friday. “But I will say, for the next press conference, I reached for a blue tie or a red tie, and [went], ‘Maybe not, you know?'”
Powell said the importance of Fed independence served as a key catalyst for his color selection.
Historically, “red” is a color most often associated with Republicans while “blue” is associated with Democrats.
“We are strictly nonpolitical. I can’t stress that enough,” Powell said. “It’s not that we’re bipartisan. We are nonpolitical. We don’t do that. And so purple was a good color for that. That’s all. Plus, I like purple ties.”
The timing of Powell’s comments came as the Fed chair was once again prodded by the president to lower interest rates.
Prior to Powell’s speech, President Trump posted on Truth Social that now “would be the PERFECT time” for the central bank leader to cut rates.
“He is always ‘late,’ but he could now change his image, and quickly,” Trump said. “Energy prices are down, Interest Rates are down, Inflation is down, even Eggs are down 69%, and Jobs are UP, all within two months – A BIG WIN for America. CUT INTEREST RATES, JEROME, AND STOP PLAYING POLITICS!”
