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CNN's The Arena with Kasie Hunt

Now: Trump Attends State Dinner In UK With King Charles; Just In: House Judiciary Committee Votes 20-19 To Block A Dem Push To Subpoena Banks Connected To Epstein; Just In: Stocks Mixed After Fed Cuts Interest Rates By 0.25 Percent. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired September 17, 2025 - 16:00   ET

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

KING CHARLES III, UNITED KINGDOM: Mr. President, from York to New York, from Birmingham, England, to Birmingham, Alabama, we are united by a common language and shared heritage.

[16:00:12]

The many thousands of people from each of our countries who have made the other their home, have enriched our societies immeasurably. Of me, the greatest pride, our cultural connections to continue to flourish with our actors, musicians, writers and television presenters prospering in the hearts of transatlantic audiences.

Today, our alliance spans every field of endeavor and shows vast potential for growth. The United Kingdom was your partner in the first trade deal of your administration. Mr. President, bringing jobs and growth to both our countries. And no doubt we can go even further as we build this new era of our partnership.

Our two nations have an exceptional legacy of shared discovery. Together, we laid the foundations of nuclear science, mapped the human genome and built the Internet, upon which all contemporary commerce, communication, and defense is based.

Together, our scientists and engineers are shaping the world of tomorrow, not least with new partnership agreements on technology and the prosperity that stands to bring. Our countries have the closest defense, security and intelligence relationship ever known. In two world wars, we fought together to defeat the forces of tyranny.

Today, as tyranny once again threatens Europe, we and our allies stand together in support of Ukraine to deter aggression and secure peace. And our Aukus submarine partnership with Australia sets the benchmark for innovative and vital collaboration.

These successes of the British Redcoats and of George Washington's Continental Army today stands shoulder to shoulder. Brothers and sisters in arms, protecting the freedoms we both cherish. Our countries are working together in support of crucial diplomatic efforts, not least of which, Mr. President, is your own personal commitment to finding solutions to some of the world's most intractable conflicts in order to secure peace.

In striving for a better world. We also have a precious opportunity to safeguard and to restore the wonders and beauty of nature for the generations who follow us. We share the ambition and determination to preserve our majestic lands and waters, above all, to ensure that we have clean water, clean air and clean food. Our legacy for the next 250 years and beyond is to ensure that our children, grandchildren and those who come after them can experience the awe and magnificence of the national -- of the natural treasures found in the countryside, on the coasts, in the seas and in the national parks established by your predecessors and mine.

Mr. President, Mrs. Trump, the bond between our two nations is indeed a remarkable one. Forged in the fire of conflict. It has been fortified through our shared endeavors and burnished by the deep affection between our people tested time and again. It has borne the weight of our common purpose and raised our ambition for a better world.

So, in renewing our bond tonight, we do so with unshakable trust in our friendship and in our shared commitment to independence and liberty.

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Therefore, as we celebrate this unparalleled partnership, allow me to propose a toast to President Trump and the first lady and to the health, prosperity and happiness of the people of the United States of America.

(MUSIC)

(APPLAUSE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Your majesty, Melania and I are deeply grateful to you and Queen Camilla for your extraordinary graciousness.

And to William and Kate, thank you so much. It's been so great being with you today. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.

It's a singular privilege to be the first American president welcomed here and the -- if you think about it, it's a -- it's a lot of presidents. And this was the second state visit. And that's the first. And maybe that's going to be the last time. I hope it is actually.

But this is truly one of the highest honors of my life. Such respect for you and such respect for your country.

For many decades, his majesty the king has epitomized the fortitude, nobility and the spirit of the British monarchy and the British people. He's dedicated himself to preserving the glory and unique character of this kingdom restoring life to the rivers and streams supporting the works of its artists and composers, planting trees and gardens in its countryside. And I just visited -- visited one of the most beautiful I've ever seen that you just completed and protecting the architectural integrity of cities, villages and towns. He has uplifted the poor, cared for rural farmers and tended to wounded veterans like nobody else. I'll tell you that. I just stood in line and shook about 150 hands,

and the king knew every single person and every single company, and some of them had bad names like X, Y, Z, Q, three. And he knew every one of them, or at least I think he did, because nobody was complaining. I was very impressed with that.

But I just want to say that his majesty has also raised a remarkable son and his royal highness, prince of Wales. Really amazing. We've gotten to know you, and I think you're going to have an unbelievable success in future.

Melania and I are delighted to visit again with Prince William and to see her royal highness Princess Catherine, so radiant and so healthy. So beautiful.

It's really a great honor. Thank you.

Many years ago, his majesty opened his archives to a biographer. Among the documents was a letter from 1993, in which he described the patriotism and guided his many projects. He wrote that he was, quote, entirely motivated by a desperate desire to put the great back into Great Britain in the finest tradition of British sovereigns. He has given his whole heart everything he's got to those parts of Britain that are beyond the realm of mere legislation.

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It's not easy, but which defines its essence and its virtue, its harmony and its soul. It's an amazing calling, and there's nobody that's answered that calling like you have. A fifth of all of humanity speaks, writes, thinks and prays, and the language born on these isles and perfected in the pages of Shakespeare and Dickens and Tolkien, Lewis, Orwell, Kipling, incredible people, unbelievable people, like we have rarely seen before, probably won't see again. The lion-hearted people of this kingdom defeated Napoleon, unleashed the industrial revolution, destroyed slavery, and defended civilization in the darkest days of fascism and communism.

The British gave the world the magna carta, the modern parliament, and Francis Bacons scientific method. They gave us the works and Locke, Hobbes, Smith and Burke, Newton and Blackstone. The legal, intellectual, cultural and political traditions of this kingdom have been among the highest achievements of mankind is really never been anything like it.

The British empire laid the foundations of law, liberty, free speech and individual rights virtually everywhere the Union Jack has ever flown, including a place called America. You know that place very well, don't you?

His majesty spoke eloquently about the bond which inspired Sir Winston Churchill. And the bust is in the Oval Office right now. The beautiful bust of Winston Churchill, to coin the phrase special relationship.

But seen from American eyes, the word special does not begin to do it justice. We're joined by history and fate and by love and language and by transcendent ties of culture, tradition, ancestry and destiny. We like two notes in one chord or two verses of the same poem. Each beautiful on its own, but really meant to be played together. The bond of kinship and identity between America and the United Kingdom is priceless, and eternal. It's irreplaceable and unbreakable, and we are, as a country, as you know, doing unbelievably well.

We had a very sick country one year ago, and today, I believe we're the hottest country anywhere in the world. In fact, nobody's even questioning it. But we owe so much of that to you. And the footing that you gave us when we started.

Together, we've done more good for humanity than any two countries in all of history. Together, we must defend the exceptional heritage that makes us who we are. And we must continue to stand for the values and the people of the English-speaking world. And we do indeed stand for that.

On behalf of all Americans, I offer a toast to one of the great friendships, to two great countries, and to his majesty King Charles III, a very, very special man, and also a very, very special queen. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much. It's a great honor to be with you.

(MUSIC)

(APPLAUSE)

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: We have been watching the state banquet for President Trump and Melania Trump, the first lady of the United States, being held, of course, by King Charles, seated across from Queen Camilla, President Trump sitting next to the princess of Wales, Catherine, who, of course, had been battling cancer publicly.

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The president, heaping praise on the king and on his son, of course, the prince of Wales, Prince William.

CNN anchor and correspondent Max Foster is on the grounds of Windsor Castle. That is where they are hosting the state banquet.

Max, quite the opulent affair. And of course, the menu, the trappings, all, filled with nods to the president's family. This is the kind of affair that President Trump is known to absolutely relish. This position that he has on the world stage, affording him the chance to be honored and seated, really in this way.

What stands out to you about what we just heard from the king of England and the president of the United States.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, just how gushing the president was about the U.K. as well as the royal family, all of the things. That the U.K. has achieved, as well as some of the common achievements. But really saying how extraordinary the arts, the culture, the science was and also going right back to the revolution and how the U.K. set the U.S. on its way. It was quite an extraordinary, tribute really, to the United Kingdom.

King Charles's speech was much more about the common ties and the partnerships that they've had in technology and in wartime, for example, he referenced Ukraine briefly as well. His was much more regal. Perhaps you would expect that, but I was quite, you know, what the royal family wants to do, what the British government wanted to do more than anything else was to give President Trump a good time and to make him feel great about this visit. And the U.K., and it really feels like they achieved that from what I saw in the president's speech.

HUNT: Yeah, we've certainly seen flattery in particular at work with foreign leaders who have approached President Trump in various venues, of course. And in this case, it seems the entire event designed to do just that. I mean, Max, can I ask you how the British public, as well as the broader parts of Europe, may receive what we're seeing here? Is the president being met with universal hostility in Britain or not?

FOSTER: I wouldn't say so. Certainly, he's unpopular in the polls, but he always has been. I think some of the demonstrations that we've seen have been from left wing groups. There have been thousands of people out on the streets of London today. But, you know, it's a country of tens of millions. And most people, I think, are like you and me. And watching this event unfold on TV.

I think, frankly, a lot of Brits separate the United States from Donald Trump. There are two distinct characters, although they're obviously come together at events like this. So, there's a huge passion and attachment to the United States.

A lot of people aren't necessarily fans of Donald Trump, but then he has a growing fan base, too. Weve seen that with the rise of Nigel Farage's Reform Party here in the U.K., really rising very quickly. And they, you know, many of their members describe themselves as MAGA.

HUNT: Really interesting.

Max Foster, always love to talk to you. We don't get to do it often enough anymore. Thank you very much for that. It's really nice to see you.

FOSTER: Thanks for having me.

And joining us now, CNN political analyst and White House correspondent for "The New York Times", Maggie Haberman, who is in the U.K. she is covering the presidents state visit there.

Maggie, great to see you.

Can you talk a little bit about what a moment like this is like for President Trump? You know, kind of how he revels in it, especially as its coming amid a series of difficult things that have been going on for him here in the United States.

MAGGIE HABERMAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yeah. I mean, Kasie, I think you just hit the nail on the head and I apologize for my setting here as I'm covering this from a hotel room right now in the U.K. He -- this is about as good as it gets for him. And he was pretty candid about that in his speech.

I think you are correct that there is an element of escapism here where he, you know, is leaving behind a lot in the U.S. that either he was unhappy with or that, people are unhappy with him about whether it is the Jeffrey Epstein story that never quite ends. And, you know, certainly is following him here to some extent, whether the assassination of Charlie Kirk and his plans for crackdowns on critics and sort of this sweeping, amorphous, quote, unquote, radical left that he's described.

We'll see what it's like tomorrow when he has his press conference with Prime Minister Keir Starmer. But for tonight, he's about as happy as you could see him.

HUNT: Maggie, can I ask you in terms of that list that you just walked through what would you say is occupying the sort of, you know, if you go to sleep at night and you can't get that one thing off your mind.

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What is that for the White House right now?

What is the thing that is really taking up the most headspace for them?

HABERMAN: So, honestly, Kasie, right now, I think if you had asked that question a couple of weeks ago, the Epstein story would have been it. Right now, it is the concerns about threats to the live -- the lives of people around the president. And the president's own, you know, two assassination attempts on his life, one of which was a near miss last year.

I think they are -- look, the president has made very clear that he is engaging in crackdowns. He has insisted that political violence is only initiated by the political left, as opposed to against it. That's just not true, in terms of attacks on the left and we, you know, we saw that with the Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota, for instance, we saw that with Nancy Pelosi's husband.

But he has made clear that he's not accepting that, and he is moving forward. But it is really hard to overstate how shaken the White House and the president was and were by Charlie Kirk's assassination. A lot of people in the White House were very close to Charlie Kirk, or knew him or admired him, and President Trump was also close to him, but also sees this in terms of the threats on his life. And so, I think that's what you're seeing is a primary driver right now.

HUNT: Maggie, we heard, of course, from the attorney general this week. She made comments in the morning on the view. She seemed to walk them back a little bit in different venues through the day. But I'm interested to know your reporting on where the president and his closest circle of advisers really are in terms of that crackdown that you mentioned. I mean, what do you think this is really going to look like here in the coming weeks?

HABERMAN: I think time will tell. And I don't think we have a clear sense of it yet. Yet I asked the president at a -- at a gaggle while he was still in New Jersey, and I was part of the reporting pool on Sunday about what investigations he's talking about, about the left. And he made a comment about how some groups are already under investigation. It's not clear at all what he was talking about, or whether that was just a reference to a E.O, an executive order.

He had signed a while back when he came into office. So, I don't think we know yet, but I do expect there will be follow through on this. I have to imagine part of the thinking here is getting through the state visit today and getting through the press conference tomorrow before they move ahead, before we really see what this looks like.

In terms of Pam Bondi, I think that she was quite sincere in saying that there are going to be crackdowns, but what she was describing just completely cuts against the First Amendment and has already been viewed and ruled on as constitutionally protected free speech.

HUNT: Absolutely. Maggie, quickly, before I let you go, the president was greeted by, enormous images related to Jeffrey Epstein, projected by protesters. Obviously in the U.K., Epstein cuts a large figure, with a prince being involved. The recent U.K. ambassador to the United States losing his job when that birthday book came out.

Do you expect he's going to get asked about this tomorrow?

HABERMAN: I expect that he will get asked, or at least attempted. Some reporters will attempt to ask it. And I think that's going to be the same thing for the prime minister, who just sacked the ambassador to the U.S. in connection with the Epstein scandal. What I think that I'll be watching for, among other things, Kasie, in addition to, you know, how President Trump handles questions about this is whether he turns it toward immigration, which has been a key issue that he has criticized the U.K. for, for quite some time.

And again, I will be curious to see whether he is as magnanimous tomorrow as he is tonight.

HUNT: Fair enough. All right. Maggie Haberman, thanks for spending some time with us as you cover the state visit. Always grateful to have you.

All right. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:28:41]

HUNT: All right. Today on Capitol Hill, the FBI Director Kash Patel's appearance before the House Judiciary Committee gave Democrats yet another chance to press the FBI director on what they seem to see as President Trump's biggest weakness.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. TED LIEU (D-CA): Is Donald Trump on Epstein's client list?

KASH PATEL, FBI DIRECTOR: The index has been released, and the index will speak for itself.

LIEU: I'm going to say America, it's a huge red flag.

REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): You said that you would release all of the materials.

PATEL: Has anyone released more information on Epstein than I have? Has anyone?

Do you know how court orders work? Do you know how protective orders work?

REP. DAN GOLDMAN (D-NY): Actually, Mr. Patel, I was a prosecutor -- a real prosecutor for ten years. I know exactly how.

PATEL: So, I was a fake one.

REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA): So, Director, you've played this cute shell game where you say you can't release everything because the court has said that it legally is not allowed to be released. But the court calls bullshit.

PATEL: I'm going to borrow your terminology and call bullshit on your entire career in Congress.

SWALWELL: I'm claiming my time, Director.

PATEL: It's a disgrace to the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: And with that, CNN's senior justice correspondent Evan Perez joins us.

So, Evan, can you just wrap up this judiciary committee hearing? And there were five hours of it, and it ended with a vote to block a Democratic-led motion to subpoena bank records related to Epstein. Why did they do that?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Look, I mean, it was a tale of two hearings, right? Republicans wanted to talk about a lot of things. I'll give you a non-exhaustive list of things they brought up, 2016 election, the -- Jim Comey, John Brennan, Catholics being targeted by the FBI, George Soros, all of these things they wanted to talk about.

[16:30:14]

They did not want to talk about the Epstein files. And of course, except for Thomas Massie. But of course, that's what -- that's what Democrats, as you saw just now, wanted to talk about. Now, the FBI director claimed that he has released more information from the Epstein investigation than anyone else.

That's not true, because a lot of these files that the FBI has and the Justice Department have released in the last few weeks have actually been public for years because, you know, there was a trial against Ghislaine Maxwell where a lot of these documents were made public.

So, we really didn't get a lot of new information about this because you saw that there was a lot of vitriol, a lot of shouting, and a lot of, frankly, disrespect from the FBI director towards those members of Congress. And they were giving it right back at him.

In the end, Republicans decided that they did not want to subpoena bank records. Democrats have claimed that they believe there are records that could show who else could have been trafficked, or who else could have benefited from some of from some of Epstein's crimes that did not go forward because, as you know, the House leaders really want to shut this down.

And so that's where were at this point. We'll see whether Thomas Massie and the Democrats can force the hand of the speaker in the coming weeks -- Kasie.

HUNT: All right. Evan Perez for us -- Evan, thank you very much for that reporting. And as we mentioned today, this was day two of testimony for the FBI director.

Our next guest questioned Kash Patel on Tuesday before a Senate committee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATEL: We will continue to release whatever we are legally permitted to do so.

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): OK, I strongly encourage you to do that, Kash. I don't -- this issue is not going to go away. I think you're going to have to -- to do more to satisfy the American people's understandable curiosity in that regard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: All right. And joining us now is the Republican senator you saw there from Louisiana, John Kennedy, who is, of course, on the Senate Judiciary Committee and the author of the forthcoming book, "How To Test Negative For Stupid And Why Washington Never Will".

Senator, it's, of course, your turns of phrase. We love having you on. Thank you so much for being here. Congratulations on the book.

KENNEDY: Thank you.

HUNT: We saw you there questioning Kash Patel. And I just keep coming back to this question, why do you think it is that they won't put these files out?

KENNEDY: I don't know, but they're going to have to put them out sooner or later.

HUNT: Are they covering for people?

KENNEDY: I don't know. I have no idea. But I have been saying since the beginning of this that it's not complicated.

Here's what the American people are thinking. They've been listening to all this for several years, and they followed it pretty closely. And here's what they're thinking -- okay. Epstein was a pig. Epstein trafficked young women, some of whom were minors. He trafficked them in part, or maybe in whole, to himself. But he had a lot of friends and a lot of important people. Who else did he traffic these young girls to?

Now, that's a very appropriate question. And the Justice Department, to which the president is kicked, did say she was going to have to answer that. Just that simple. It's not going away.

HUNT: Do you think that the president is potentially one of those people?

KENNEDY: I don't have no idea. I have no idea.

HUNT: Are they trying to cover up for the president?

KENNEDY: I asked Kash yesterday, point blank. I said, who else? If anyone besides Epstein were these young women trafficked to? And he said nobody. It's not in our files.

Now -- and that's fine. I'm not saying he's lying. I don't know one way or the other. I'm just saying that after all the rhetoric, they're going to have to release the files and let people decide for themselves.

HUNT: One of the things that came out in the documents that were given to Congress recently is a copy of this so-called birthday book, of which there is a note from President Trump. President Trump says it's not his signature on that page. Do you think that's plausible?

KENNEDY: I have no idea. I'm not a handwriting expert. President Trump and Epstein, in their younger days were running buddies. Do I think that the Justice Department is covering for President Trump? Honestly, no.

I mean, again, I haven't seen the files, but I don't think so. But I wouldn't faint from surprise to find out that there are a lot of other important people named in those files. And the American people want to know who they are. And that's perfectly understandable.

HUNT: Kash Patel today promised that he would investigate the birthday book.

[16:35:00]

Do you believe him when he says that? KENNEDY: Well, he's done nothing to make me disbelieve him. I'll put

it that way. I do think that the FBI, or rather the -- well, yes, the FBI, but also the Justice Department, now that the president has kicked this issue to them, understands they're going to have to release these documents. They've decided to do it piecemeal through a House committee.

Frankly, I wouldn't do it that way. I'd rip the band-aid off. I'd just put it all out there in front of God and country.

The American people, they don't read Aristotle every day. They're too busy earning a living. But they're pretty smart enough to figure this out. But, you know, I'm not in charge.

HUNT: Why do you think House Republicans blocked the subpoena of the bank records? Isn't follow the money the very first tenant of any investigation like this?

KENNEDY: Well, I think the White House is pressured -- they pressured the House and the pressured the Senate to let -- try to -- let's get past this issue. And I understand that. I'm sure the White House's mind there are other important things to -- more important things to talk about.

But the problem with that is, that many people in the administration talked frequently before they became part of the administration, and some afterwards about how, you know, there's some really important there involved, and the American people need to know. And now, they've got to come clean, and I'm ready to get past it. If it were up to me, I'd just release the documents and let the chips fall where they may.

Could the president be mentioned in them? Maybe. Wouldn't be surprised if he was, because he and Epstein, many years ago were friends, but that will never get past this on to other important things until they release the documents.

HUNT: Well, let's talk about some other important things, which is you do have this new book, how to test negative for stupid. You have been in public life a long time.

KENNEDY: Yeah.

HUNT: You have seen a lot.

KENNEDY: Yeah.

HUNT: We are enduring a very difficult national moment right now in the wake of the assassination of Charlie Kirk. But you have, like I said, lived a lot of American history. How are you thinking about this moment that we are in now? How do our divisions, how are they the same? How are they different, better or worse than they've been at other difficult points in our history? Can we move through this?

KENNEDY: They're worse in my judgment, at least in my lifetime. I think I'm like most Americans, Kasie. I'm tired of the ugly I think we've lost perspective. There are a lot of things in life more important than politics.

A whole lot more important. Your kids are a lot more important to you than politics. My sons more important to me than politics.

Here's what happened -- here's what's happened. In part as a result of social media, people treat others who disagree with them as not just being an error, but in sin. And once you -- once you start believing that someone who disagrees with you is evil, then violence against that person that you disagree with can seem like justice. You lose all perspective.

Now, most Americans aren't like this, but many are. And, and many of them, the social media which promotes this puts them over the edge. Look, I'm not blaming it all on social media because I believe in free will and responsibility. But there's -- it's -- there's no denying that social media has lowered the cost of being an A-hole. People say things on that computer they wouldn't say to another human being's face. And it's just become rage bait. And we need to address it.

But in terms of how to stop hate I'm going to tell you something. I don't know whether you pray, I do.

HUNT: I do.

KENNEDY: And when I talk to my God, every single time, I ask God, don't let me hate because it's hard. We get in the middle of all this, and we have strong opinions. We disagree. But you can't let yourself hate.

And you've got to constantly remind yourself of that. And you know, I don't have any solution except try to exercise some self-control. Now, you played the hearings from the, the judiciary committee with the director of the FBI and the House members. And the same thing happened yesterday. When you have -- when you have adults acting like kids fighting in the back of a minivan and screaming at each other and calling each other everything but an ignorant slut, that doesn't help us because a lot of this does start at the top.

[16:40:04]

HUNT: All right. Senator John Kennedy, I really appreciate your time.

KENNEDY: Good to see you, Kasie.

HUNT: It's great to see you.

KENNEDY: Love your show.

HUNT: Thank you.

All right. We do have some breaking news just coming in to CNN that we do want to get to. We're learning of a shooting that involves police in central Pennsylvania.

CNN's Jason Carroll is following this story for us.

Jason, this is just in what do we know so far?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kasie, were trying to gather as much information as we can. Theres very little at the moment, but this is what we can tell you from what we've been able to gather so far. Two people seriously injured. This, according to emergency officials who are there on the ground in York County in a place called North Courthouse Township.

They described it as a police incident. The emergency director from York County just gave a briefing a short while ago. He said the following.

He said that an emergency call came in at around 2:10 p.m. this afternoon. He said numerous law enforcement responded, EMS responded. The Pennsylvania state police are currently investigating. He took no further questions after that. Kasie, but he did go on to say that the situation is, quote, evolving.

This is an area, a rural area in central Pennsylvania, down there in York County. Again, two people seriously injured in a shooting that involved police. Now the emergency management coordinator is there on the scene, again describing it as an evolving situation. Again, a call that came in at around 2:10 p.m.

Schools in the area, K-12, have been told to shelter in place as a precaution. The governor there, Governor Shapiro, said that he is on his way, says that he has been briefed on the situation. But again, the emergency director from York County, who gave a statement during a briefing just a short while ago, again, not taking any questions, giving very little information.

But again, from what we've been able to tell you so far, a shooting that involved police, two people seriously injured, being treated at this time, this after an emergency call came in at 2:10 p.m., Pennsylvania state police currently investigating. As soon as we're able to get you more information, we'll be certain to bring that to you -- Kasie.

HUNT: All right. Jason, thanks very much for that.

And I do want to bring in Charles Ramsey, former police chief.

And, Chief Ramsey, this, of course, some difficult news. We've got the governor writing on X, Governor Shapiro, that he's been briefed on the situation. He's on his way there now. Again, these details are just coming in, so we want to be careful. But that obviously would give you a little bit of a sense of the potential severity of an incident like this.

What does it tell you?

CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, exactly that. I mean, the fact that it's still evolving means that it's not totally, completed yet in terms of, whoever's responsible for this. My understanding is it is a shooting. So there's either a search going on or they aren't quite sure if they got a single person or more than one person.

But as you said, the fact that the governor himself is heading that way tells me it's very serious, whatever it is.

HUNT: Can you talk a little bit about Josh Campbell reported that they had schools in the area locked down here? What might that tell us, and how would you interpret that if you heard as a law enforcement official that this was a step they were taking?

RAMSEY: Well, that's a precautionary matter. If it involves a shooting, a suspect, it makes probably still at large, since they have the schools on lockdown. That's just to keep everyone in the area safe.

So, I wouldn't read too much into that. It's become, unfortunately, pretty standard protocol. Whenever you have an incident occur in a school nearby, you automatically contact them and ask them to go into lockdown mode.

HUNT: All right. Our thanks to John Carroll.

And, Chief Ramsey, thank you very much for jumping in here for us to talk a little bit about this. Appreciate both of you.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:48:38]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEROME POWELL, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: In support of our goals, and in light of the shift in the balance of risks. Today, the Federal Open Market Committee decided to lower our policy interest rate by a quarter percentage point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: For the first time in Trump's second term, the Fed has cut interest rates. They have signaled that there will be two more cuts by the end of the year. The markets went on a roller coaster after that. They first rallied at the news, with the Dow spiking nearly 500 points before erasing all the gains as investors listened to Powell's comments. And it finished in the green.

The decision nearly unanimous. The lone dissenter was Trump's latest appointee to the board, Governor Stephen Miran, who was sworn in just yesterday. He wanted a larger half point rate cut.

All right. Our panel has been standing by patiently. Republican strategist and pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson, CNN political director, Washington bureau chief former DNC senior adviser, communications director Xochitl Hinojosa, and Republican strategist Brad Todd.

We are also joined here by "The Shark Tank" co-host Kevin O'Leary.

And let me start with you, Kevin, always great to see you. Thanks for being here. What's up with the market here? What did they really not like about what Powell said today? Why did that line look like that?

KEVIN O'LEARY, CHAIRMAN, O'LEARY VENTURES: Powell talked a lot about that. The inflation metric was, you know, just not there. I mean, his mandate is dual mandate. Everybody knows full employment and low inflation.

[16:50:01]

We're a long way from his mandate on inflation. We're almost a full percent above where he's supposed to be.

And so, you know, this is probably he's only got five more meetings as chair. So, he's very concerned about his legacy. I know Trump is bashing him, but Fed bashing is presidential sport. It's been going on for decades with every administration. It's always interesting and fun to watch, but it's irrelevant to the Fed, they remain independent.

So, he's trying to thread the needle. The martin wanted 50, but most people knew it would be 25. And they were kind of hoping maybe on the outlier they'd get 50 basis points. I will note, however, it did not help the long bond. The ten-year barely budged. So, this is not going to be relief on housing in any way. It seems that housing has other problems besides just mortgage rates.

HUNT: Fascinating. Kevin, I will have to say your hydrangeas are gorgeous. We're all sitting here jealous of the setting that you find yourself in.

I want to bring in David Chalian. Yeah. Go ahead.

O'LEARY: This -- no mortgage on it. I want you to know that.

HUNT: Okay, well, lucky you. The hydrangeas, the Porsche. You're kind of, you know, bringing the whole thing. He was on. He was on his Porsche last time he was on.

David Chalian, the president has repeatedly called Powell too late, too late Powell. He's too late. What does what happened today? How does it play into the politics of the moment?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, he's still going to call him too late Powell because that's a way to insulate any kind of blame of stewardship of the economy from the president. So, he wants to keep it all on the Fed chair, as Kevin was saying, this is a sport you can follow through many administrations of tension with the Fed chair. I don't think we've ever seen the kind of pressure Trump has exerted publicly on a sustained basis on a Fed chair, the way that we've seen these last several months.

Listen, this is the ballgame, and Donald Trump knows it. So, all the other issues that we talk about on this show are that come up in the news like this is it. And so how Americans are feeling about Trump's stewardship of the economy is going to determine electoral outcomes, probably more than anything else next year.

HUNT: Kristen, your data show that too.

KRISTEN SOLTIS ANDERSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yeah. I mean, partisanship can only Trump the pocketbook for so long. And I do think that there is a risk that you get to next November. And if the economy is doing great, that's wonderful news. Republicans will be able to say, hey, let's keep us in power. Don't let the Democrats stop what we're doing.

But if the economy is not great, and especially if the tariffs are still in place, if it still feels chaotic, if voters are feeling like I feel a little bit uneasy about this, I don't think that means a ton of Trump voters vote for Democratic candidates down ballot, but do they stay home? That's the big challenge that I'm keeping an eye on.

BRAD TODD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know, I was shocked to Jay Powell's press conference today because he basically validated everything Donald Trump has been saying. He said, first off, the tariffs are not being passed on to the consumers near as much as he expected they would. He said housing is being hurt by the higher rates.

He said the downside risk that we've been worrying about is now here. Donald Trump said all those things, and then Powell closed it by saying there are no risk free paths. It's hard to know what to do. Well, of course there are no risk free paths.

The truth is, Jay Powell has been holding the economy hostage for six months to try to manipulate Donald Trump. It didn't work, and now he's forced to cut rates. He's too late.

HUNT: Xochitl?

XOCHITL HINOJOSA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No. Absolutely not. Donald Trump is the president of United States. Every president gets blamed for the economy, whether they get to take credit for it, whether it's good they get blamed for it if it is bad. What Trump is grappling with is that he doesn't control the fed. He doesn't control the jobs report.

What he does control, tariffs. He does control the cost of living. General costs going up. All of those things he does control.

And I think Democrats will be messaging that this is his economy. If it doesn't get better by the midterm elections. He owns it. Republicans own it. They have everything. They're in power.

And so, Donald Trump can try to deflect and message around Jay Powell as much as he can. But he owns this.

HUNT: Kevin O'Leary, I mean, what say you here in terms of what is and isn't in the president's control?

O'LEARY: Well, I think what's so important is for international markets to put more than half of every dollar they invest globally in the United States is to maintain the signal to them that there's Fed independence. And Trump's new appointee went right to the playbook and said 50 basis points. That's a little unnerving. It's a little uncomfortable. There's not enough governors there to, you know, to actually say that Trump controls the Fed.

Trump doesn't want to control the Fed. And I think he knows that that would be very bad, because if any country that tries to control pricing by interest rates ends up like Venezuela, hyperinflation, complete collapse of the economy, you have to let the Fed do its thing and monitor and maintain the balance between full employment and inflation. And Powell said it himself. He's concerned more about employment right now.

So, his gift to us because we saw some soft job numbers, was that he'd give 25 basis points.

[16:55:02]

But part of this employment issue is the fact that immigration has been basically halted. And so, you have some nuances, and I'll give you an example on housing, the input cost of soft lumber now has a 35 percent tariff on it.

So, home builders who say, look, we could get prices down if we could build more supply our stuck with a lack of employees to actually build these houses, a lack of policy in states, which is all, you know, California and then high input costs and lumber. It's a problem.

HUNT: Yeah, for sure.

All right. Kevin O'Leary always grateful to have you, sir. Thank you. Bring us another new lovely backdrop next time you come by.

All right. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HUNT: All right. Thanks to my panel for being here today. Thanks very much. Appreciate it. Thanks to you at home for being there as well.

If you missed any of today's show, you can always catch up listening to the podcast, scan the QR below. Follow along wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow the show on X and Instagram @TheArenaCNN.

Jake Tapper is standing by for "THE LEAD".

Hi, Jake.