Biden Fed Jay Powell meets with Oval Office

President Joe Biden said Thursday that he had not spoken to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell “once” during his term in office.

But the 2, accompanied by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, met within the Oval Office on May 31, 2022, to debate inflation, photos and videos of the meeting show.

The President made this false claim in a speech to the Economic Club of Washington, DC, at some point after the Fed announced a 50 basis point rate of interest cut.

Biden praised his respect for the central bank's independence, saying: “By the way, I have never spoken to the chairman of the Fed once since I became president.”

When asked by a reporter on the White House on Thursday in regards to the apparently inaccurate memory press conferenceCouncil of Economic Advisors Chairman Jared Bernstein said Biden was referring only to discussions about rates of interest.

“The president said he did not talk to Chairman Powell about interest rates,” Bernstein said. “He did not pressure Powell and never did.”

But the error undermines Biden's criticism of former Republican President Donald Trump, who has threatened to challenge the independence of the Federal Reserve if he’s re-elected to a second term.

“Unlike my predecessor, I respect the Federal Reserve's independence in carrying out its mission of reducing inflation. That independence has served the country well,” Biden said on Thursday.

“Moreover, it would cause enormous damage to our economy if we ever lost our independence.”

Even during his meeting with Powell within the Oval Office in 2022, Biden stressed the importance of the Fed's independence in fighting inflation.

“My plan to fight inflation starts with a simple proposal: Respect the Fed. Respect the Fed's independence,” Biden said on the time. “My job as president is not only to nominate highly qualified people to this institution, but also to give them the freedom they need to do their jobs.”

Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, said in August that presidents should “at least [a] “about the Fed’s interest rate decisions.”

“Yes, that is my strong feeling,” Trump said at a press conference at Mar-a-Lago on August 8.

“I think in my case, I've made a lot of money, I've been very successful and I think I have better instincts than a lot of other people who sit at or chair the Federal Reserve.”

The Wall Street Journal Earlier this 12 months, it was reported that Trump's advisers were drawing up a plan to involve Trump within the Fed's rate of interest decision-making process if the Republican returns to the White House in January.