Donald Trump doubled down on his criticism of U.S. monetary policy Friday, accusing Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen of artificially keeping interest rates low as a favor to President Obama. Trump said the zero interest rate policy is meant to artificially prop up Wall Street and push a coming recession into the next administration, and that as soon as interest rates are raised “someone’s going to suffer”:
TRUMP: Janet Yellen, for political reasons, is keeping the interest rate so low that the next guy…who takes over as President could have a real problem. Keeping these interest rates at this level, Stephanie, this is a political thing. When they get raised, perhaps with the next President, we’ll see some bad things happen.
STEPHANIE: Do you think Janet Yellen is failing?
TRUMP: I don’t know if she’s failing, but she’s a very political person because everybody’s been saying that she should raise the interest rates. Now she’s always been known as a dove on interest rates, but I think what she’s doing, and I’m sure that’s with the blessing of the President because he doesn’t want to have a recession or worse in his administration, so she’s keeping interest rates low. Get him out of here, let him go to my golf courses, because I’m sure he’ll be playing because I have the best golf courses around, but he’s gonna go play golf, and someone’s going to suffer.
STEPHANIE: Quantitative Easing really seems great for people in the financial industry.
TRUMP: Excuse me, I’m a developer. I develop property. I’m doing the old post office, I’m paying almost no interest. It’s great! I’m not complaining, from my own standpoint it’s great! I’m just saying that at some point, you’re going to have to raise interest rates, you’re paying nothing.
STEPHANIE: Is it too late to raise interest rates?
TRUMP: I don’t think it’s too late, but I think you’re going to have to do something. They are trying to put the next recession, and it could be a beauty, into the next administration.
Nick Arnold is a researcher for American Principles In Action.
