President Donald Trump tweaked a few of his previous alarming comments made on the future of American’s economy in a new interview with The Wall Street Journal.
Back when he was running for office, Trump made a handful of assertions on what he plans to do if president, including firing Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, accusing Yellen of conspiring President Barack Obama to keep interest rates low for political reasons.
But Trump doesn’t think this anymore, reminding everyone that he remains an advocate for a low-interest rates environment.
According to the article in The Wall Street Journal by Gerard Baker, Carol Lee and Michael Bender, he left open the possibility of renominating Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen once her tenure is up next year.
From the piece:
“I do like a low-interest rate policy, I must be honest with you,” Mr. Trump said at the White House, when asked about Ms. Yellen.
Asked if Ms. Yellen was “toast” when her term ends in 2018, Mr. Trump said, “No, not toast.”
“I like her, I respect her,” Mr. Trump said, noting that the two have sat and talked in the Oval Office. “It’s very early.”
This is a complete change from the same person that accused Yellen of not raising interest rates because former President Barack Obama asked her to not raise rates.
Trump also updated his thoughts on the America dollar, advocating for a continued, low interest rate environment. He, however, reversed an earlier promise to label China a currency manipulator.
While Trump accused Yellen of keeping rates low for Obama, he did say back when he was campaigning that the best thing America has going for it is that interest rates are so low.
So far, the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates twice since Trump made those claims, once in December and once in March.
In the most recent march meeting, the Fed announced that it would raise interest rates by 25 basis points to a range between 0.75% to 1%. There are expected to be three interest rate rises total for 2017.
The interview is being widely circulated by financial journalists right now on Twitter. The CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management, Josh Brown, a frequent guest on CNBC's The Halftime Report, also jumped into the conversation.
The President saying intelligent things about interest rates, the dollar etc. I swear, he is. Thanks Mnuchin! https://t.co/yz9SPIaMV4
— Downtown Josh Brown (@ReformedBroker) April 12, 2017
