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Fed Chair Powell To Release Decision on Interest Rates Today; WH Spokesperson: Trump to Grant TikTok 90-Day Delay on Ban; Sources: Trump Warming to Idea of U.S. Strikes on Iran. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired June 18, 2025 - 09:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[09:31:52]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, just moments ago, markets opened on Wall Street. You can say, meh, basically flat. Markets opening flat. This as the Federal Reserve is set to make a decision on interest rates later today. Fed Chair Jerome Powell widely expected to hold rates steady. Even as President Trump has repeatedly demanded he slash them.

With us now, Colby Smith, Federal Reserve Correspondent for "The New York Times." I said expected to hold rates steady. That's not all people are looking for today, though, is it?

COLBY SMITH, FEDERAL RESERVE CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: No. So, this meeting in particular is an important one. Every quarter, the Fed releases new forecasts about their thinking about interest rates, the economy going forward, things like that. And so this is a widely anticipated meeting in that regard because we'll get a better sense from officials how they see the trajectory of interest rates going over the course of the year and into next year and through 2027 and the longer term.

And right now, the Fed is in a wait and see mode. They want to get more clarity on the economic outlook. They want to get more clarity on the final contours of President Trump's global trade war. They want to better understand how those policies more broadly are going to impact the economy. Things like inflation in the labor market.

And they don't want to make any big decisions on policies until they get to that point. And they -- and they have that clarity in the data. So, that's what we're expecting to hear from Jerome Powell, the chair today, and get a little bit of an inkling of where they see policy headed over a longer period of time.

BERMAN: You talked about all these things which have led to the uncertainty over the last several months. You can add to that this week, the possibility of the United States getting involved in military action over Iran. How has that influenced the markets and how might that influence the Fed discussions today?

SMITH: Well, it's certainly given officials a bit of a pause and economists as well. I mean, any time that you have a big shock like this one, I think it really lends itself to, you know, the Fed taking a step back to assess what the implications are going to be. And I think the message right now is that it's really uncertain.

We don't know if a prolonged conflict, if that's going to mean higher oil prices and in turn higher and more persistently high inflation. Whether higher oil prices and an extended conflict is going to lead to global growth slowing down, which could, you know, have an opposite effect in terms of what the Fed should or should not do. So, right now they're keeping, I think, their options open. We're going to hear Chair Powell talk about this certainly at the press conference. But right now it just adds one more element of uncertainty to an already very unknown outlook.

BERMAN: I will say it very quickly. A lot of the inflation data or the data that surrounds inflation the last six weeks or so, it hasn't turned as concerning as I think some people feared it might. I wonder how that, whether or not Jerome Powell will weigh in on that.

SMITH: No, absolutely. I mean, I think that's the really big question. For months and months, economists and policymakers have been expecting tariffs to raise consumer prices. That's just been the standard thinking of how these policies were going to impact the economy.

[09:35:11]

Now, no one is saying that that increase isn't coming. It's just taken a little bit longer to come through in the data. And I think that reflects a couple of things.

For one, a lot of companies in the lead up to these tariffs being imposed, they stocked up on inventory. They purchased things ahead of time in order to get ahead of the higher costs.

And they're still working through those inventories. The second is that these retailers, for instance, they realize that they can't just raise prices on consumers without potentially seeing demand drop off. And so, they've been very careful to do so.

So, I think it should give the Fed and other economists some comfort that the inflationary pressures from the tariffs so far have been more muted. But it doesn't maybe necessarily change the longer-term outlook that these tariffs eventually are going to lead to higher inflation. It might just change the peak and the time at which we're at these high levels.

BERMAN: Colby Smith, great to have you on, covering the Fed so well today, like your quarterly Super Bowl. I know it's going to be a busy day for you.

Sara?

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thank you so much, John.

New this morning, TikTok safe for now. A White House spokesperson says President Trump expected to delay enforcement of the law requiring TikTok to sell its wildly popular app or be banned in the U.S. The app has one hundred seventy million plus American users and is owned by a China based parent company. And critics say the app poses a national security risk because of its connection with China.

Joining me now to discuss CNN Media Analyst and Axios Media Correspondent Sara Fischer. This delay that is expected will add another 90 days until the next deadline. Is there any movement in TikTok finding a U.S. buyer so that its issue of being shut down is squashed?

SARA FISCHER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: Not a lot, Sara. What I'm hearing from sources is that a lot of that momentum has stalled before the last extension. You're hearing tons of conversations between the White House, the private sector trying to get a deal done with China. But that was right before the tariffs happened, Sara.

Ever since, conversations have been stalled. I spoke with Frank McCourt, who is leading a Project Liberty people's bid to buy TikTok. And he said that those conversations have stalled amid some of those tensions.

Well, I do expect to start to heat up a little bit. Maybe not enough, but a little bit is that lawmakers are now starting to get frustrated. Remember, this is a bipartisan ban. That law to get rid of TikTok has momentum from both parties. And the Supreme Court upheld that law. So, they're starting to get a little bit frustrated that we just keep extending the ban, avoiding it getting implemented.

SIDNER: Does it seem like though, because it keeps getting extended, because it is clear that the president does not want to shut it down in the United States, that the company essentially can look at that and say, look, we might be safe for at least the next three plus years.

FISCHER: That's definitely what they think. Right now, I'm actually at a big advertising conference. TikTok's presence here is massive. And there is mostly American companies here looking to buy ads on TikTok.

I've been following the number of jobs posted to TikTok's website. That number is not going down. It's very clear that they feel pretty safe. The big question, though, Sara, is that these app store companies, the Apples and the Googles of the world, the cloud serving companies that continue to host this app, they must feel very strongly that they have assurances that they're not going to get in trouble because by hosting the app right now, they are technically in violation of the law.

Remember, a new administration could come in and retroactively fine them for hosting TikTok. So, they are taking a massive risk here, even if TikTok feels safe.

SIDNER: Really interesting points there, Sara Fischer. Thank you so much for walking that through -- walking through that with us.

Come on, get it together, Sidner. Appreciate it.

FISCHER: Thank you.

SIDNER: John?

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: Hopefully you were walking forwards and backwards every day.

All right, the breaking news, a lot going on. President Trump is said to be warming to the idea of military strikes on Iran. And this comes as Iran's supreme leader says his country will never surrender. We've got new developments just ahead.

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[09:43:52]

BERMAN: All right, the breaking news. Israel, moments ago, said its air force is striking military targets at this moment inside Tehran. And it comes as President Trump is reportedly warming to the idea of launching U.S. strikes on Iran. Iran's Supreme Leader just a short time ago warned the United States to stay out of this or risk irreparable harm. The Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also said this morning that Iran will never surrender.

Israel -- and this is interesting, moments ago, also said it is easing restrictions on its own citizens in what it says is a message of victory over Iran.

With us now is the former Assistant Secretary of State for Political and Military Affairs, retired Army Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt.

General, thank you so much for being with us. Look, the President, for the last 24 hours, said to be warming to the idea of military strikes. My question to you, as someone who spent a lot of time in that region, particularly, you know, you were in Iraq during the invasion and occupation there. What are the risks for the United States if it does become involved directly inside Iran? All these dots people should know, or the United States has troops based in the region, some 47,000.

[09:45:00]

BRIGADIER GENERAL MARK KIMMITT (Ret.), FORMER ASSISTANCE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR POLITICAL-MILITARY AFFAIRS: Well, I think you pointed it out by bringing that map up of our bases in the region. I think the great concern, of course, is that either Iran directly or through its proxies would try to take revenge on that strike by attacking those facilities, our embassies, our infrastructure over there, or our civilians that are operating over there.

BERMAN: And, again, the goal of action would seem to be to disable Iraq. Iran's nuclear capability. This is a map of where those capabilities are, and the big concern is the Fordo Enrichment Center there.

How guaranteed would success be if that's the goal for the United States to eliminate that? Can the United States be certain of achieving that if it does get involved?

KIMMITT: John, I think both Israel and the U.S. could wipe out a significant amount of nuclear program. There would still be some left. There's no doubt about it. You'd have the nuclear scientists, you'd have some of the secret sites, and you could very well have an Iranian government that wants to shake off the dust and continue the program. It would be delayed by probably a decade, but it would not be gone.

So, I think the answer is that at the end of this, it must be concluded by diplomacy, by negotiations, where the final 15% or 10% is voluntarily given up by Iran. They disavow any program, and they allow for inspection and verification. It's not something they want to do. The Iranians have backed off and taken the poison chalice before on the Iran-Iraq war. I think that's the only way we can guarantee that Iran will not have a nuclear program for the long run.

BERMAN: Again, we're getting word now that Israel is conducting new strikes inside Tehran. You get a sense from this map here of just how active Israel has been over the last six days. How much does Israel need the United States to get involved? From a military standpoint, I can understand the overall diplomatic strategic gain by getting more countries involved. From a military standpoint, how much does Israel really need the U.S. now?

KIMMITT: Well, for the specific operation against the Fordo Enrichment Facility, the Israelis do not have the capability to take that out without American assistance. There may be other targets like that that we haven't heard of, but that certainly is one.

Second, the military involvement, even though that's probably the main way we would help in the attack on Iran, we still have a significant role to play in the defense of Israel, resupplying them with equipment, resupplying them with logistics, being part of any operation to knock out drones and ballistic missiles.

So, we're heavily involved in the military operations to defend Israel. I can see one or two instances where we'd be involved in the attack by Israel.

BERMAN: Again, I think it's very interesting what you said before, though, that no matter what happens militarily, no matter how complete the victory, there will still be 15 to 10% remaining that will have to be solved diplomatically. We'll see over the next several days.

General Mark Kimmitt, it's always great to see you. Thank you very much.

We're getting new comments from Iran's supreme leader and these new actions inside Israel easing some of the defensive posture that's been on. What kind of message does that send if Israel says that it can, you know, lift some restrictions as a message of victory, what message does that send to the White House as it considers new military action?

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[09:53:12] SIDNER: As the U.S. is weighing whether or not to get militarily involved in the Israel-Iran conflict, we are now hearing, we think, possibly from President Trump. He is speaking right now.

DONALD TRUMP (R), U.S. PRESIDENT: And it's tapered. It's an equality that you guys rarely get to even put up. They do that for a living. They're incredible people. I don't know them, but I love them. And I would bet that they all voted for Trump. I mean, I don't know for a fact, but I think so.

But we're about to lift it. And we also have one going on what's called the front of the north. We have one going there, identical. So, we'll have one on this side of the building. We'll have one on that side of the building properly placed.

In this case, we had a lot of choices, putting it on that hill, putting it different places. It's such a beautiful pole. We thought we'd put it near. I mean, it always looks best when it's near.

At Doral, I put it right near. I have a similar pole. And these are the best poles anywhere in the country or in the world, actually. They're tapered. They have the nice top. You know, I don't know if you people are aesthetic. You know, they're the fake news. I don't know. I don't know. But it's a very exciting project to me.

And then at 11 o'clock, we're lifting the flag. But we're going to lift the pole now. And then they're going to the other side, get that. And then we're going to do, I think, two flag liftings. We'll be putting it up at 11 on here. And a couple of minutes later on the other side, we'll start here at 11:00.

So, that'll be very nice and very patriotic. We're doing well. And as a country, if the Fed would ever lower rates, you know, debt for a lot less. It's a shame. This guy, I have a guy -- do you ever have a guy that's not a smart person and you're dealing with him? And he's not a smart guy. He's worried about inflation. I said, that's right. If there's inflation in six months or nine months, you lower the rates. So, you raise the rates.

You can do whatever you want, Brian, right? So, let's say there's rampant inflation, which there's none. You know what? There is a success. I got a call from Congress last night. "Sir, there's a problem." I said, "What is it?" "Money is pouring in. We don't know how to account for it."

[09:55:13]

I said, "Check the tariffs. $88 billion came in from tariffs. No inflation. And it's going to get even more so. I know what I'm doing.

So we have a stupid person, frankly, at the Fed. He probably won't cut today. Europe had 10 cuts and we had none. And I guess he's a political guy. I don't know. He's a political guy who's not a smart person, but he's costing the country a fortune. So, what I'm going to do is, you know, he gets out in about nine months. He has to -- he gets fortunately terminated. Biden, I would have never reappointed him. Biden reappointed him. I don't know why that is, but I guess maybe he was a Democrat. You know, I got great advice from Mnuchin on this one. Great advice.

But he's done a poor job. So, we have no inflation. We have only success. And I'd like to see interest rates get down.

Now, Biden did a lot of very short-term debt. So, we have short term debt coming due. And because of this guy's rates, you know, if he'd lowered a point, I'd pay about a point less. Then if it lowered two points, I'd pay about two points less. And that's for 10 years, 12 years, 15 years, five years.

It's hundreds of billions. It's even trillions of dollars that we're going to lose because of this too late. I call him too late, Powell, because he's always too late. I mean, if you look at him, every time I did this, I was right, 100%. He was wrong. Maybe I should go to the Fed. Am I allowed to appoint myself, Doug? I don't know. Am I allowed to appoint myself at the Fed? I do a much better job than these people.

So, anyway, we should be two points lower. It'd be nice to be two and a half points lower. We'd be saving $800 billion, $700 billion. That's a lot of money. Thank you for nothing, for absolutely nothing. We'd save $600, $700, $800 billion. We have -- I think we're 38th now in interest, and we should be number one. We should be the lowest. But -- and by the way, if he's worried about inflation, that's OK. I understand that. I don't think there's going to be any. So far, there hasn't. I mean, we have almost no inflation. We've done a great job.

We had -- when I came in, we had a lot of inflation. We went through four years of the highest inflation in the history of our country with Sleepy Joe Biden and -- Sleepy Joe. And he didn't know what the hell he was doing. And so we had the highest inflation we've ever had in the history of our country. And then it came down because when I got elected, it started dropping because people understood that I knew what I was doing.

But now we have a man that just refuses to lower the Fed rate, just refuses to do it. And he's not a smart person. I don't even think he's that political. I think he hates me, but that's okay. You know, he should. He should. I call him every name in the book trying to get him to do something. I've been nice to him. I do it always. I don't know how to sell. I've been so nice to him, fellas, you wouldn't believe. Let's have dinner. Too late. I'd go home too late. Come on, too late. Let's have dinner.

I do it every way in the book. I'm nasty. I'm nice. Nothing works. He's like just a stupid person, but I don't expect anything. Maybe he does a little bit, but we should be two and a half points.

Remember, Europe had 10 cuts. We had none. We're paying more rate, more interest than a lot of European nations that can't carry our suitcase. I'm going to be nice. There's another expression. You know what the other expression, can't carry, you know what it is. But I shouldn't use it in front of the fake news. So, it's very sad to see it. And what I'm going to do is I'm going to go very short term, like six months, seven months, eight months, wait until this guy gets out, get the rates way down and then go long term because we have a tremendous appetite for our debt because our country is doing well. But think of it. I got a call from Congress three nights ago.

Sir, we can't account for the money coming in. I said, that's a good problem. You know, the bad problem is we don't have any money. They can't account. There's so much more money than we thought is coming into the Treasury. We don't know where it's coming from, sir. I said, check out the tariffs. He calls back about a day later. Wow, I think you were right. Yeah, I was right. That's nothing. You haven't seen anything yet.

More importantly than the money coming in. We have factories being built, AI, auto factories. Two of them stopped yesterday in Mexico, you read. And they're coming here because they don't want to pay the tariffs. They can't pay the tariffs. It doesn't work.

So, I just want to wish you a lot of luck with the new flagpole. We have two of them. And we're going to do this one now. Then we're going to do the other one. 11 o'clock or so. We're going to have a flag raising, which would be great.

And I got to get these guys back to work. They're making a fortune. They're standing around making a fortune. But remember, there's somewhere in this group, there's somebody that is going to captivate some movie producer. Not Harvey Weinstein, but somebody else.