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According to Jinse Finance, Trump and Powell engaged in a face-to-face debate on Thursday regarding the renovation costs of the Federal Reserve headquarters. Powell stated that the President’s view on the renovation costs was incorrect. The two, both wearing construction helmets, addressed the media together. Trump said that the renovation costs for the Federal Reserve had jumped from $2.7 billion to $3.1 billion. Powell responded, “I am not aware of that.” Trump replied, “This was just announced.” Powell again questioned the source of Trump’s data, noting that it did not come from the Federal Reserve. Powell pointed out that the President seemed to have added the cost of another building to the two buildings currently being renovated. Trump said he would fire a project manager responsible for cost overruns. Powell, on the other hand, anticipated no further overruns, stating that the Federal Reserve has reserves and would be able to handle it if necessary.

According to a report by Jinse Finance, "Fed mouthpiece" Nick Timiraos wrote that Trump visited the renovation site of the Federal Reserve building on Thursday afternoon, which amounted to a political performance aimed at increasing pressure on the Fed. This is part of an unconventional campaign designed to tarnish Fed Chair Jerome Powell's public image and push for interest rate cuts. Trump's rare visit to the Fed highlights his flair for showmanship in governance. For a president who built his brand on real estate projects and reality TV, the visit provided a made-for-television moment to portray Powell—whom Trump himself appointed as Fed Chair eight years ago—as an incompetent bureaucrat overseeing a $2.5 billion renovation project plagued by cost overruns. Stifel strategist Brian Gardner noted that the focus on the Fed building's renovation could also serve to divert attention from the Epstein case.