Former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, one of three long-shot GOP candidates challenging President Trump in the Republican primary next year, said Friday that Trump’s attacks on top officials are causing an “erosion” of government institutions.
“If you look at the institutions, the president is doing damage to, really, the glue that’s held our system together for 200 years,” Sanford said during a Hill.TV interview on Friday.
Sanford pointed to Trump’s repeated attacks on the Federal Reserve, and its chairman, Jerome Powell.
“When the president of the United States says that Jerome Powell — the chairman of the Federal Reserve — is in essence ‘an enemy of the state,’ you’re doing erosion to one of the institutions of our government,” Sanford said.
Trump’s campaign didn’t immediately respond to Hill.TV’s request for comment.
His comments follow Trump’s remarks on Tuesday, in which he blamed the Fed for a decline in U.S. manufacturing activity that economists say was largely driven by the president’s trade battles with China and Europe.
Trump accused Powell of harming U.S. exporters by keeping the value of the U.S. dollar too high.
“They are their own worst enemies, they don’t have a clue,” Trump tweeted. “Pathetic!”
That was not the first time the president lashed out at the central bank chief who was nominated by Trump.
In August, Trump questioned whether Powell was a “bigger enemy” to the United States than Chinese President Xi Jinping.
—Tess Bonn
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