Rate Ranting

Donald Trump rants and raves about a lot of things. One of his most frequent targets -- and notably so last week -- is the Federal Reserve, which he's constantly ragging about lowering interest rates.

Lower interest rates can give a boost to the economy, but given Trump repeatedly insists it's booming, he exposes himself both as a liar and a hypocrite when he rants like this.

Trump is also reportedly panicking that the economy is sliding into a recession, a fact that will become apparent to all consumers by election day. So he can hardly campaign on a booming economy when it's heading into the ditch.

Many people, however, have always believed that Trump is most concerned about interest rates because of the impact on his personal borrowing. I've always suspected this, too, imagining the interest he pays on debt fluctuates with interest rates.

Lo and behold, on Saturday the Washington Post published a great piece (link here) about how Trump would stand to save countless millions if the Fed were to lower interest rates.

While previously Trump ranted at the Fed arguably for personal reasons, I suspect he's doubly anxious now. He's desperate to get down his own interest rate and he sees a weakening economy as dooming his re-election chances.

These may be some of the reasons Trump is acting even more irrational and erratic than usual. He has always processed stress poorly.