Depending on which poll you believe, Donald Trump is either leading in the race for the Republican presidential nomination or running a close second behind Ben Carson.
Part, if not all of Trump’s appeal appears to be based on his proclivity for making outlandishly bold statements, “saying the things the rest of us are only thinking,” and telling truth to power.
Every time Trump addresses a crowd, either in a debate, in a one-on-one with the media or at a campaign event, it’s more likely than not that he’s going to say something that creates a buzz.
And Tuesday was no different, although this time, Trump went well beyond commenting on Carly Fiorina’s looks or getting into a row with Jeb Bush about 9/11.
Speaking Tuesday at a press conference to announce his new book, Crippled America, Trump accused President Barack Obama of conspiring Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen to keep interest rates low for “political reasons.”
According to a report from Fortune, citing a Reuters report, Trump said that Obama asked the Fed not to raise rates because of the “bad things” that would happen if rates rise.
From the Fortune report:
“They are not raising [rates] because Obama has asked them not to raise them,” Trump said at the press conference. “He wants to get out of office, because we’re in a bubble, and when those rates are raised, a lot of bad things are going to happen.”
“Janet Yellen is highly political and she’s not raising rates for a very specific reason: Because Obama told her not to because he wants to be out playing golf in a year from now and he wants to be doing other things and he doesn’t want to see a big bubble burst during his administration,” the Republican Presidential contender added.
Last week, the Fed said that it was not going to raise the federal funds rate this month, citing the fact that the country’s economy still has not met the targets laid out by the Federal Open Markets Committee.
In a statement released last week by the Fed, the FOMC members said that in an effort to “support continued progress toward maximum employment and price stability, the Committee today reaffirmed its view that the current 0 to 1/4% target range for the federal funds rate remains appropriate.”
The FOMC said that it is open to a rate hike at the next meeting, which is coming in December.
“The current 0 to 1/4% target range for the federal funds rate remains appropriate,” the FOMC said in its statement.
“In determining whether it will be appropriate to raise the target range at its next meeting, the Committee will assess progress–both realized and expected–toward its objectives of maximum employment and 2% inflation,” the FOMC continued.
“This assessment will take into account a wide range of information, including measures of labor market conditions, indicators of inflation pressures and inflation expectations, and readings on financial and international developments,” the FOMC continued. “The Committee anticipates that it will be appropriate to raise the target range for the federal funds rate when it has seen some further improvement in the labor market and is reasonably confident that inflation will move back to its 2% objective over the medium term.”
But if Trump is to be believed, none of those factors are weighing on the Fed’s decision. Instead, it’s apparently only Obama’s decree that's keeping interest rates low.
