By Matt Egan, CNN

New York (CNN) — President Donald Trump met at the White House last week with a powerful business leader he’s repeatedly clashed with in the past: JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.

During the Oval Office meeting, Trump and Dimon discussed the economy, trade, financial regulation and the Federal Reserve, a person familiar with the matter told CNN.

The meeting, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, follows years of tensions between two of the most powerful people on the planet. According to the Journal, Dimon and Trump have met twice in the past two months, and the meeting last week included Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

Dimon has also, during a separate conversation with Trump, defended Fed Chair Jerome Powell and stressed that history shows political attempts to force interest rates down often backfire, the source told CNN.

A White House spokesperson said officials don’t comment on private meetings that may or may not have happened. JPMorgan also declined to comment.

Dimon and Trump have scuffled over multiple topics over the years, and the insults have been personal.

In 2023, Dimon said Trump doesn’t understand the debt ceiling, saying it’s “one more thing he doesn’t know very much about.” After Dimon urged business leaders to support Nikki Haley in the GOP presidential primary, Trump called Dimon a “highly overrated globalist.” In 2018, Trump said Dimon doesn’t have the “smarts” to be president, adding that he’s a “nervous mess.”

Asked during a CNBC interview on Thursday about the reports of an improving relationship, Dimon declined to get into specifics but stressed he believes it’s important to meet with varying leaders.

“We reach out to the administration all the time. They reach out all the time. I think it’s a good thing,” Dimon told CNBC.

Powell and the Fed

The Powell-led Fed kept interest rates steady on Wednesday for the fifth meeting in a row, refusing to bow to White House pressure to dramatically slash borrowing costs.

Trump responded on Thursday by attacking Powell in a Truth Social post as “TOO ANGRY, TOO STUPID & TOO POLITICAL” to lead the Fed.

Powell, a Republican, was nominated by Trump himself for the crucial role. Powell was then reappointed by President Joe Biden.

Asked about the latest Trump attack against Powell, Dimon said he’s “not going to agree with all that language,” but noted he’s “never seen a president ever say they want higher interest rates.”

Politicians often favor low rates from the Fed in the hopes they will make it cheap to borrow and speed growth. But if central banks keep rates too low, they can unintentionally boost prices.

“I think Jay Powell is a professional. I think independence is important. I think independence actually keeps interest rates lower,” Dimon said, alluding to historical examples of political pressure on central banks that backfired by fueling inflation.

“The president gets the chance to pick a new Fed chair eight months from now,” Dimon said, when Powell’s term expires in May 2026. “I think they’re kind of doing the right thing. The economy has been chugging along. …. If inflation comes down and the economy continues to do well, they’ll probably reduce rates shortly.”

Investors are losing confidence the Fed will cut rates at the next meeting. The chance of a rate cut in September has dropped from about 65% earlier this week to 39% on Thursday, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

Dimon sounded the alarm about Trump’s tariffs in early April as markets plummeted, warning the historically high levies “will slow down growth.”

However, the JPMorgan boss struck a more positive tone on Thursday, noting Trump’s tariffs have been “greatly moderated” and are being “more carefully done” than during the administration’s initial rollout.

“Some is being passed on and some is not,” Dimon said, referring to businesses raising prices. “We just don’t know yet. You may see more effect down the road. We’ll have to wait and see.”

The-CNN-Wire
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