Trump Attacks Fed Hike, Suggests Tariffs on Europe

17 Sep 2026 · 16 min · 10 chapters

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In short

This episode of Bloomberg Daybreak covers major news across finance, tech, geopolitics, and U.S. politics. Topic: Trump criticizes the Fed’s unanimous 25 bps rate hike (to 3.75–4%), saying rates should be 1% or lower; traders react and discuss likely further hikes. It also reports Trump floating tariffs on the EU tied to EU-Canada associate-member plans, and a House-passed Russia sanctions package enabling 100% tariffs on top Russian energy purchasers.

Key claims

inflation is “too high for too long,” energy prices drive inflation expectations, and AI regulation needs “whole-of-government” standards.

Notable examples

King Charles AI summit in Scotland (NVIDIA Jensen Huang, OpenAI CFO Sarah Fryer, DeepMind Demis Hassabis); OpenAI’s Sam Altman attending Xi dinner; Saudi pipeline restart after attacks; NTSB helicopter crash analysis; and Russia-linked alleged plots in Europe.

Guests

Jennifer Lee (Senior Economist, BMO Capital Markets); Michael Barr (Bloomberg, New York/World updates); John Stashauer (Bloomberg Sports Update).

Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.

Chapters

Tap a time to open that second in VO

Trump Critiques Fed's Rate Hike

0:00 to 0:35

Discussion on President Trump's criticism of the Fed's interest rate decisions.

“Some people treat ChatGPT like some kind of smart search engine, and some use it to get work done.”

Trump Critiques Fed's Rate Hike

1:41 to 3:00

Discussion on President Trump's criticism of the Fed's interest rate decisions.

“Karen, President Trump is criticizing the Fed for deciding to raise interest rates to a range of three and three quarters to four percent.”

AI Discussions at Royal Event

3:00 to 3:59

King Charles hosts a meeting with top AI executives to discuss technology's impact.

“We got this reaction from former Fed regional presidents James Bullard and Patrick Harker.”

Trump's State Dinner and AI Regulation

3:59 to 6:15

OpenAI CEO to attend a state dinner as AI regulation debates intensify.

“technology to ensure that it is not just ecologically sustainable, but interestingly, I thought as well, economically.”

Oil Prices and Trade Policies

6:15 to 8:49

Update on crude oil prices and Trump's proposed tariffs on the EU.

“General Assembly in New York to discuss the next steps in the Iran war.”

Congressional Actions and Sanctions

8:49 to 10:10

Discussion on new sanctions against Russia and their implications.

“But business groups and some Democrats opposed the measure.”

Kennedy Center Controversy

10:10 to 11:24

Trump's comments on the Kennedy Center's closure and renovations.

“killing a news reporter, the pilot, and one on the ground.”

Helicopter Crash Investigation

11:24 to 12:43

Details about an NTSB investigation into a helicopter crash in Los Angeles.

“Time now for our Bloomberg Sports Update.”

Helicopter Crash Investigation

12:50 to 13:55

Details about an NTSB investigation into a helicopter crash in Los Angeles.

“But sometimes what matters most is being ready for what you never saw coming.”

Fed Rate Hike Analysis

14:37 to 18:15

Discussion on the recent Fed rate hike and its implications.

“Well, it might not have been what the president wanted, but the Fed delivered the quarter percent rate hike it's been expecting with inflation still elevated and energy prices on the rise.”
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Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

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1:29Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio, news. Good morning, I'm Nathan Hager. And I'm Karen Moscow. Here are the stories we're following today. Karen, President Trump is criticizing the Fed for deciding to raise interest rates to a range of three and three quarters to four percent. It was a unanimous quarter point hike, the first Fed's increase in borrowing costs in more than three years. The president spoke to reporters about Chair Kevin Warsh and the decision. I'm relying on Kevin, but he's got, you know, a very tough board. He's got a board that was put there by a lot of other people. And the interest rates are too high.

2:12They're not appropriate. And I told I talked to Kevin and I said, you might as well vote with the board because it's not going to matter. President Trump went on to say rates should be at 1 % or lower. Kevin Warsh, Nathan, President Trump's pick to lead the Fed, was sworn in less than four months ago. He defied many skeptics with the rate hike. The labor side of the Fed's congressional remit is in good shape. Yet for more than five years, inflation has been running above target. So our predominant focus is on the price stability side of our mandate. The plain fact is that inflation is too high and has been for too long.

2:52Traders quickly priced an additional rate increases from Warsh and his colleagues and pushed down their expectations for inflation in coming years. We got this reaction from former Fed regional presidents James Bullard and Patrick Harker. I think this was a pretty good outcome for the Fed. You know, they got their interest rate increase in, which I think was appropriate. Yeah, three more sounds a little high compared to what the committee seemed to be saying. They probably want to see more data before they commit to that. And former Fed Regional Presidents James Bullard and Patrick Harker reacting to the Fed's rate hikes.

3:27Traders are pricing in more than a 50 percent chance of a hike at the central bank's next meeting in late October. King Charles is preparing to host the world's leading tech executives at a royal event in Scotland. And AI, it's going to be the big topic. Tom McKenzie is covering the meeting in Glasgow. This is quite telling, isn't it, that it falls to King Charles III to try to cajole and browbeat these AI executives into committing that they will build this technology in a way, the king says, that benefits all people. He was also pointing out he wants to see this AI technology to ensure that it is not just ecologically sustainable, but interestingly, I thought as well, economically.

4:06It seems that this is a king, this is a monarch, This is a palace that wants to use its leverage to bring these executives together to see if there's some kind of consensus that can be formed. Bloomberg's Tom McKenzie in Glasgow says NVIDIA CEO Jensen Wang, OpenAI's chief financial officer Sarah Fryer and Google DeepMind co-founder Demis Hassabis are attending the event. Here in the U.S., Karen, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman will be on the guest list when President Trump hosts China's Xi Jinping for a White House state dinner next week. Open AI confirmed that to Bloomberg News, and a source says former Apple CEO Tim Cook will be there as well, along with NVIDIA's Jensen Wong.

4:44The gathering comes as lawmakers debate whether and how to add guardrails to artificial intelligence. Republican Congressman Mike Lawler of New York says there needs to be a whole-of-government approach to regulate AI. We want to have standards across the board that all of these AI companies are abiding by to make sure that you don't have a situation of hacking or cyber attacks. And also so that we are prepared in dealing with China because China is not going to abide by the rules of the road. New York Republican Mike Lawler appeared on Bloomberg's Balance of Power. President Trump has blasted existential fears about AI as a hoax.

5:20He said the U.S. needs to maintain its technological edge over China. At the same time, he says he has a great relationship with President Xi. Now to the latest from the Middle East, Nathan. Crude oil, it's falling as Saudi Arabia races to get a key pipeline back online after recent attacks. Sources say the east-west pipeline could be back to about half capacity within days and full operation is expected in six weeks. Bloomberg Middle East News Director Will Kennedy has more. People had been very worried that this crucial pipeline, which has been a really important benefit during the Hormuz crisis because it allows Saudi Arabia to shift oil exports from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea, would be out of action for several weeks.

6:01If they can get it online and half of it online, that would be several million barrels a day. Much quicker, that will be some salve to the market, although it doesn't solve the whole problem. MS Bloomberg's Will Kennedy. Axios is reporting President Trump plans to meet with Persian Gulf leaders next Tuesday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York to discuss the next steps in the Iran war. Checking oil prices right now, Brent, it is down 1.3 % at$104.44 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate at$101.43. And prices at the pump are rising. AAA's latest average for regular unleaded, it's up to$4.44 a gallon.

6:40That's more than seven cents higher than yesterday. And diesel, it's hit a new record, almost 640 a gallon. Now to the latest on the trade front, Karen. President Trump is floating new tariffs on imports from the European Union if he deems that bloc's relationship with Canada harmful to the U.S. The news comes after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed Canada becoming the EU's first associate member during yesterday's State of the Union address. President Trump says that news could have trade implications. Canada has been a terrible trade partner. And no, I don't see that.

7:16And if they do that, if I think it's at all a hostile act, I will put very serious tariffs or stop trading with Europe on many things. President Trump imposed 50 percent tariffs on 20 billion dollars of Canadian goods after trade talks collapsed last month. Well, Nathan, President Trump made his latest comments as he headed back out on the campaign trail in Gastonia, North Carolina, to boost Republican Senate candidate Michael Watley. If we lose, you're going to lose your border. You're going to lose your tax cuts. You're going to lose your wealth and our country is going to go through hell and we're going to be a laughing sock all over the world.

7:53President Trump's trip is the kickoff of what he's called a nationwide sprint to election day. The latest polling average from Real Clear Politics shows Watley trailing his Democratic opponent, former Governor Roy Cooper, by nearly eight points in the race to replace retiring Republican Senator Tom Tillis. Like in Washington, Karen, the House is out for a nearly two-month recess ahead of the midterms, but before they left, lawmakers passed a major new sanctions package against Russia. On this vote, the yeas are 262, the nays are 159. The motion is adopted. The measure, sponsored by the late Senator Lindsey Graham, gives the president new powers to impose 100 % tariffs on the top purchasers of Russian energy, including China, India, and Turkey.

8:37House Speaker Mike Johnson says it'll put more pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin. It's the most significant international action taken so far to bring the unjust war to an end over there. That's House Speaker Mike Johnson. But business groups and some Democrats opposed the measure. House Foreign Affairs Ranking Democrat Gregory Meeks says the bill will make America's affordability crisis worse by allowing more tariffs on U.S. allies.

9:03Time now for a look at some of the other stories making news in New York and around the world. And for that, we're joined by Bloomberg's Michael Barr. Michael, good morning. Good morning, Karen. Democratic Congresswoman Joyce Beatty asked for an emergency court hearing into the closure of the Kennedy Center, suggesting the move may violate a court order against an earlier attempt to shutter the venue. Beatty said the Kennedy Center's board decision to physically shutter the facility may be violating the clear and unambiguous order of the court. While on his way to North Carolina last night, President Trump suggested that he has owed his name on the Kennedy Center building due to the money he claims he has raised towards its repairs.

9:45I think that the Trump administration should certainly have recognition because, frankly, if we don't do that, it's going to close. It'll end up being ripped down. It's in very, very bad shape, very dangerous shape. Congress has already earmarked$257 million for renovations for the Kennedy Center. In Los Angeles, the NTSB says they are working to analyze the wreckage after an MBC4 helicopter crashed, killing a news reporter, the pilot, and one on the ground. The aircraft went down while covering a car and bus crash that also left at least two others dead. The NTSB's Fabian Salazar says they hope to gain some insight into a possible cause of the crash and a video captured by the reporter inside the cockpit as the chopper went down.

10:31In that recording, we are clearly hearing sounds that are consistent with the engine changing its speed. And we're also hearing tones that are being generated that are likely advisories to the pilot. The helicopter was operated by Angel City Air. U.S. prosecutors allege a former Russian military officer offered$25 ,000 to a U.S. citizen to track and kill someone in Lithuania's capital who was, quote, telling lies about Russia. The Justice Department has unsealed charges against five people working for Russia's intelligence services to conduct attacks and killings in Europe and the U.S. The allegations detail Russia's expanding campaign of hybrid attacks against European nations that supply weapons and money to Ukraine.

11:18Global news, 24 hours a day and whenever you want it with Bloomberg News Now. I'm Michael Barr, and this is Bloomberg. Karen. Thanks, Michael. Time now for our Bloomberg Sports Update. And for that, we bring in John Stashauer. Thanks, Karen. The Buffalo Bills played at the same stadium for 53 years. Tonight, they'll play at their new one, Highmark Stadium, which cost$2.2 billion to build. It's the Bills and the Lions to kick off Week 2. No Sam Darnold Sunday for Seattle against Arizona. He's got the hip injury suffered in the season opener. The Seahawks will start Drew Locke at quarterback. Big college game Saturday, LSU against Ole Miss, Lane Kiffin against his old team.

11:56The LSU quarterback, Sam Levitt, listed as doubtful. That's your Bloomberg Sports Update. Stay with us. More from Bloomberg Daybreak coming up after this. Some people treat ChatGPT like some kind of smart search engine, and some use it to get work done. ChatGPT Work is a new way of working in ChatGPT that can take action across your apps and files, stay with a project for hours if needed, and turn a goal into finished work. It's designed to help you move from a chaotic starting point to a reviewable first version. So all the source materials, briefs, and scattered information that you have to grind through to turn into something useful can just become something useful.

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14:28Coast to coast on Bloomberg Radio, nationwide on Sirius XM, and around the world on Bloomberg.com and the Bloomberg Business app. This is Bloomberg Daybreak. Good morning, I'm Nathan Hager. Well, it might not have been what the president wanted, but the Fed delivered the quarter percent rate hike it's been expecting with inflation still elevated and energy prices on the rise. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh puts it simply, inflation has been too high for too long. Today's policy action will support a timelier return to the committee's 2 % goal. This committee will deliver price stability. It was Fed Chair Kevin Warsh at the Post-Decision News Conference you heard live on Bloomberg Radio.

15:07Joining us now is Jennifer Lee, Senior Economist at BMO Capital Markets. So, Jen, the hike was expected. Was it as hawkish as you expected? Good morning. Good morning. Thanks for having me on. And I'm going to say the answer is yes. And just the facts, like I had three big takeaways or the three big things that shocked me. Number one, that it was unanimous. And I remember I called out right away, someone check Truth Social. And the second little bit of surprise was that the press release was so short for such a big announcement. And of course, the 30-minute press conference, which is about half of the usual time.

15:45Those are the three big surprises that came to me. But overall, certainly a lot more hawkishness. Again, the fact that it was a unanimous vote. And some of the comments which the Fed chair gave, a lot of it was like a repeat of what he said back in Jackson Hole. But he hasn't swayed from that at all. So, you know, it sounds like we do have one more hike to come before the end of the year. Certainly what we're seeing in the dot plot, at least as far as the averages go. In terms of that unanimity, do you expect that to continue as we head further along? I'm going to say yes. But of course, a lot of this is going to depend on what happens with the war in Iran, how long the strain of hormones will be shut down for, because I think that's been the overriding factor for inflation, not just for the Federal Reserve, for all the central banks around the world, except for maybe Brazil who cut rates last night.

16:36But it's all about energy prices and about inflation expectations and putting a damper on inflation expectations. If that comes to an end, then before the end of the year, then we may see some stepping back from various voters. But right now, as it stands, I wouldn't be surprised if we have another unanimous vote in December. You've been calling out energy prices a couple of times there. Does this look to you like a data dependent Fed still? Or was this a case of the market moving the Fed in this direction, given the pricing that we saw before the decision? I don't think the Federal Reserve, as independent as they are with everything, I don't think they can ignore completely what the market is saying.

17:19And again, it was oil prices. It was the CPI report, which even Chris Waller had said that that August CPI report was going to be the one that he was going to base his September decision on. So there is data obviously involved in what the Fed is saying, even though the Fed chair yesterday said that he wasn't, I think he said, quote, I'm not a data dependent kind of guy. So in our last 30 seconds here, October, is it live? You know, that's a tough one. You know, I think every meeting is going to be live, but I think the federal ones are probably on a wait a little bit more to get some more data to see what's going to happen before they move again in December.

18:00Things have to go wrong really quickly on the oil front, and the data have to be uber, uber strong, I think, to see another rate hike coming in October. And the dot plots are also saying only one more hike before the end of the year. This is Bloomberg Daybreak, your morning podcast on the stories making news from Wall Street to Washington and beyond. Look for us on your podcast feed by 6 a.m. Eastern each morning on Apple, Spotify or anywhere else you listen. You can also listen live each morning starting at 5 a.m. Wall Street time on Bloomberg 1130 in New York, Bloomberg 99.1 in Washington, Bloomberg 92.9 in Boston and nationwide on Sirius XM Channel 121.

18:42Plus, listen coast to coast on the Bloomberg Business app now with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto interfaces. And don't forget to subscribe to Bloomberg News Now. It's the latest news whenever you want it, in five minutes or less. Search Bloomberg News Now on your favorite podcast platform to stay informed all day long. I'm Karen Moscow. And I'm Nathan Hager. Join us again tomorrow morning for all the news you need to start your day right here on Bloomberg Daybreak.

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From the publisher

Today's top stories, with context, in just 15 minutes.
On today's podcast:
1) The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter percentage point and plans an additional hike later this year to contain inflation. Chairman Kevin Warsh said the action shows the Fed is serious about delivering on the price stability objective and removing a dose of accommodation. The rate increase defied President Trump, who said on social media that US interest rates should be at 1% or lower and called for lower interest rates.
2) President Trump said he will put very serious tariffs or stop trading with Europe if he thinks the European Union's push to make Canada a potential associate is harmful to the US. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed Canada becoming the first associate member of the European Union, saying she would like to work with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on the idea. Trump's comments risk further inflaming a simmering trade war between the US and Canada, with Trump having already imposed tariffs on Canadian goods and restricted Canadian goods from federal government purchases.
3) OpenAI shared several undisclosed incidents of its AI models misbehaving and unveiled a new framework for tracking and disclosing such occurrences going forward. The company detailed various instances of its artificial intelligence models misbehaving, including fabricating missing data and attempting to bypass network restrictions. OpenAI said it does not believe that the AI industry has solved alignment and monitoring to a sufficient degree to continue responsibly scaling at maximum speed for much longer.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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