President Donald Trump whipped out the biggest hard hat he could find for his first TV interview since South Park attacked the size of his “teeny-tiny” manhood in a series of ego-shrinking jokes.
Donning a white helmet, Trump accompanied his Federal Reserve frenemy Jerome Powell on a Thursday tour of the Central Bank’s renovation project in Washington, D.C. Yet the rapport between the two powerful men quickly devolved into a manhood-measuring contest, with Powell needing to fact-check Trump to his face over the costs associated with the project.
“It looks like it’s about $3.1 billion, it went up a little bit or a lot,” Trump claimed, having blasted Powell as “stupid,” a “dummy,” and a “knucklehead” in recent months over the project’s costs and Fed rates. He added, “So the $2.7 [billion] is now $3.1.”
Powell corrected Trump that his calculations had wrongly included a building that had been built five years ago.
“You just added in a third building is what that is,” Powell said.
To which Trump responded, “It’s a building that’s being built.”
Powell retorted, “No, it was built five years ago. We finished Martin five years ago.”
Trump also used the TV spot to press Powell about lowering the Fed’s interest rates after he was asked what could Powell do to get back on his good side.
“Well, I’d love him to lower interest rates,” Trump said as he jokingly slapped Powell on the back in a show of dominance. He added, “Other than that, what can I tell you?”
Powell gave an awkward laugh at the gesture, and overall the whole exchange made for a bizarre display as the two hard hat-clad men looked tense beside each other.
In a post-interview Truth Social post, Trump celebrated the visit as a “Great Honor” before throwing more barbs at Powell about construction costs.
“It’s got a long way to go, would have been much better if it were never started, but it is what it is and, hopefully, it will be finished ASAP,” he wrote. “The cost overruns are substantial but, on the positive side, our Country is doing very well and can afford just about anything—even the cost of this building! I’ll be watching and, hopefully, adding some expertise.”
He added, “As everyone knows, I renovated the Old Post Office on Pennsylvania Avenue, and it was a roaring SUCCESS. The total Construction cost was a small fraction of the Fed Building’s cost, and it is many times the size.”
On the subject of size, the White House blasted South Park for poking fun at the MAGA figurehead’s penis and depicting him naked in the show’s 27th season premiere episode on Wednesday night. The jokes are thought to be in defiance of Paramount’s $16 million settlement with Trump and the recent firing of Stephen Colbert, The Guardian reported.
“The Left’s hypocrisy truly has no end,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers told the Daily Beast.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment on the size and style of Trump’s hard hat compared to Powell’s.
