President Trump calls Treasury Secretary Mnuchin 'very smart person' after rate hike announcement

Dec. 25 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump on Tuesday has again criticized the Federal Reserve, blaming it for this month's plunge in the stock market.

"They're raising interest rates too fast," said Trump, to reporters in the Oval Office, NBC News reported. "They think the economy is so good, but I think that they will get it pretty soon, I really do."

After the Federal Reserve announced its plan to raise interest rates somewhere between 2.25 percent to 2.5 percent, Trump responded today with, "The fact is that the economy is doing so well that they raised interest rates."

Despite his displeasure with the impending rate hike, Trump gave a vote of confidence to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, referring to his as a "very talented guy, very smart person."

For the month of December, all of the S&P 500's eleven sectors have been negative. The Nasdaq's bear market fall continues as well, sitting over 20 percent under August's record highs.

On Sunday, Mnuchin asked the heads of major financial institutions during a conference call whether they had enough liquid cash on hand to endure the coming rate hike. He also attempted put to rest any fears about the volatile market.

A day later, the Dow took a nosedive of more than 650 points, the worst Christmas Eve trading day ever.