The White House on Tuesday ridiculed Donald Trump’s assertion that Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen is playing politics in her management of the central bank by keeping interest rates low during President Obama’s tenure.
“The charge, of course, is preposterous, and it is baseless,” said White House press secretary Josh Earnest. “There has been no evidence to marshal to support it.”
In the first presidential debate Monday night, Mr. Trump said the Fed under Ms. Yellen’s leadership “is being more political than Hillary Clinton.”
“We have a Fed that’s doing a political thing — this Janet Yellen of the Fed — by keeping interest rates at this level,” Mr. Trump said. “The day Obama goes off … playing golf for the rest of his life, when they raise interest rates, you are going to see some bad things happen.”
Mr. Earnest said he found the Republican nominee’s claim laughable.
“I chuckled when he said that she was more political than Hillary Clinton. I’m not even sure what that means,” he said.
The White House insisted that the Fed is not susceptible to partisan politics.
“The president, time and time again in words and in deeds, has demonstrated his commitment to protecting the independence of the Fed,” Mr. Earnest said. “That’s a principle that benefits our economy. It’s a principle that is the bedrock of our financial relationship with countries all around the world.”
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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