Donald Trump Blasts Janet Yellen…and Barack Obama

Benjamin SnyderBy Benjamin SnyderManaging Editor
Benjamin SnyderManaging Editor

Benjamin Snyder is Fortune's managing editor, leading operations for the newsroom.

Prior to rejoining Fortune, he was a managing editor at Business Insider and has worked as an editor for Bloomberg, LinkedIn and CNBC, covering leadership stories, sports business, careers and business news. He started his career as a breaking news reporter at Fortune in 2014.

At a press conference to push his new book, Crippled America, Donald Trump accused President Barack Obama and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen of foul play over interest rates.

Trump accused the Fed of keeping interest rates low for “political reasons” and as a boon to President Obama, according to Reuters.

“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.

While the Trump campaign has been the frontrunner for months, it recently took a hit in the polls thanks in part to a surging Ben Carson. Should Trump win the GOP nomination and ultimately the general election, he’ll have to live with Yellen until her current term as Fed chair ends on Feb. 3, 2018. Based on Tuesday’s comments, it’s fair to say he won’t reappoint Yellen, the Fed’s first female chair.

Fortune visited Trump’s book signing at Trump Tower in New York City Tuesday, which you can check out here.