Pence says other countries should 'emulate' us economic policies to catch up

NEW YORK — Vice President Mike Pence recommended Thursday that other nations plagued with slower growth ought to imitate U.S. policies, even as he recommended the U.S. imitate theirs. In an

interview at Delivering Alpha, Pence bragged about how well the domestic economy is doing and said he has had conversations with multiple international leaders on the subject.

"I've heard one foreign leader after another congratulate the president on America's economic success," he said at the conference, which is presented by CNBC and

Institutional Investor. Pence said those countries should "look in the mirror" because the global slowdown is "the result of their policies." "They ought to be

emulating our policies," he added. However, a few minutes earlier he advocated that the U.S., at least in terms of monetary policy, should be taking after other regions and countries

like Europe and Japan who keep their benchmark interest rates near zero. The Federal Reserve increased its short-term borrowing rate nine times between December 2015 and December 2018,

following that with two rate cuts this year. But President Donald Trump has blasted the Fed for the rate hikes, saying they're making the U.S. less competitive on the global stage.

Pence would not commit to a zero-rate policy, saying only "I support the president" when asked whether he is a believer in the strategy the Fed followed for seven years during and

after the financial crisis. He did reiterate Trump's criticisms, though in less harsh terms than a president who has called the central bankers "boneheads." "I support

the president in his call for monetary policy that levels the playing field for our economy with other economies around the world," he said.