When you’re actively working for the president of the United States, you can’t just come out and publicly say, “This guy is a complete and total moron,” however accurate or obvious the statement may be. Oh sure, you can say it in private, or in an anonymous op-ed, but attaching your name to such comments is generally considered inadvisable if you want to stay employed. That’s why, during the period in which Janet Yellen served as the chair of the Federal Reserve under Donald Trump, we never heard her telling reporters things like, “He makes the cast of Bachelor in Paradise look smart,” or “I honestly and truly believe my Schnauzer could do a better job.” But as of last February, Yellen no longer works for Trump—because he literally thought she was too short for the gig—and thus is feeling a bit freer in her choice of words.

In an interview with Marketplace’s Kai Ryssdal, Yellen was asked, point blank: “Do you think the president has a grasp of macroeconomic policy?” And instead of dancing around the issue or offering some kind of “I don’t know what’s in his heart” answer, she responded, “No, I do not.” That most of us had a hunch this was the case does not change the fact that it’s shocking Yellen would just come out and say it! And, apparently, macroeconomics is just one of several things she thinks President Buy and Sell knows nothing about, the others being international trade, business, and the entire purpose of the Federal Reserve.

Ryssdal: Tell me more.