Trump: Fed more political than Clinton

Donald Trump doubled down on his attacks on the Federal Reserve Monday night, accusing the central bank of creating a “big, fat, ugly bubble” in the economy.

Despite repeated denials from top Fed officials that the central bank has no interest in politics, Trump fiercely attacked the institution during the first presidential debate.

{mosads}“We have a Fed that’s doing political things,” he said. “When they raise interest rates, you’re going to see some very bad things happen. The Fed is more political than Secretary [Hillary] Clinton.”

Trump had previously charged that the Fed has deliberately kept interest rates low to benefit President Obama, adding that the stock market would collapse after rates rose.

But Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen, when asked about Trump’s prior comments, emphatically denied any politics are at play. The Fed is fiercely defensive of its political independence, and Yellen vowed that when Fed officials meet to discuss interest rates, U.S. politics are completely absent from the conversation.

But that has no dissuaded Trump.

“The day Obama goes off, and he leaves and he goes off on the golf course for the rest of his life,” he said. “When they raise interest rates, you’re going to see some very bad things happen.”