Trump blames Fed board for interest rate hikes

(The Hill) — President Trump Wednesday praised Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, blaming the board instead for the interest rate increase.

"I'm relying on Kevin, but he's got a very tough board," Trump told reporters after landing in North Carolina. "He's got a board that was put there by a lot of other people."

"I told Kevin, I said, 'You might as well vote with the board because it's just not going to matter.' The board is very hostile," he continued. "They're very political. They're doing the wrong thing. They're a bunch of politicians."

The Federal Reserve announced their anticipated decision Wednesday to raise interest rates to a range of 3.75 to 4 percent. It was the first interest rate hike in three years.

"It's shame because it's too high an interest rate," Trump said. "Despite that, the country's barreled through everything because we're doing so well. But the interest rates are too high."

The president earlier railed against the hike, saying the U.S.'s interest rate should be "1 percent of less, because we are the Best Credit in the World – BY FAR."

"If we stopped Trading with every country that we have a Deficit with, which is most of them, we would make, at least, 1.5 Trillion Dollars a year," he wrote on Truth Social.

He went on to say the U.S. is "carrying' nearly every country and "that cannot go on any longer."

"LOWER THE INTEREST RATES FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND FAST!" Trump said.

The board voted to raise the rates unanimously. Warsh said the decision will "support a timelier return" to the Fed's 2 percent inflation target.

Distributed by Newsbank, inc.