GUTTENBERG, Iowa (AP/The Huffington Post) — The White House is firing back at Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry's comments about Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
White House spokesman Jay Carney says threatening the Fed chairman isn't a good idea. His comments came in response to Perry's assertion that Bernanke would be committing a "treasonous" act if he decided to "print more money to boost the economy." Perry said if Bernanke did that, "we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas."
"When you're president or you're running for president you have to think about what you're saying because your words have greater impact," said Carney in weighing in on the remarks. "President Obama and we take the independence of the Federal Reserve very seriously and certainly think threatening the Fed chairman is probably not a good idea."
He spoke to reporters traveling with Obama on his three-state Midwest bus tour.
Perry made the comments in question while campaigning in Iowa. During a stop in the Hawkeye State he also said he would be a president who is "passionate about America – that's in love with America." Asked whether he was suggesting that President Barack Obama didn't love his country, Perry said: "You need to ask him."
Perry spokesman Ray Sullivan addressed the Texas governor's remarks about the Federal Reserve on Tuesday.
"He is passionate about getting federal finances under control," Sullivan told the New York Times Times. "They shouldn’t print more money, they should cut spending and move much more rapidly to a balanced budget."
The Times reports that Sullivan did not disavow the comments made by Perry.
UPDATE (3:44 p.m. ET): Rick Perry is standing by his remarks about the Federal Reserve.
"I am just passionate about the issue and we stand by what we said," said the Texas Republican during a stop in Iowa on Tuesday, according to CNN.
Via ThinkProgress comes video of what the presidential candidate had to say.
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