Trump looks to Nixon’s playbook - good for him, bad for the economy?

History suggests that bullying the Fed for political gain can have serious consequences for the rest of us

One of the more critical lessons economists gleaned from the Nixon administration is about the exorbitant cost of allowing politicians to mess with the Federal Reserve. Donald Trump also learned an important lesson from Richard Nixon - a very different one.

Nixon had blamed the Fed for his loss in his first bid for the presidency in 1960. By keeping rates high, he believed, it caused a recession that led voters to punish the then vice-president. In 1972, he would not let that happen again.