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Below is a copy of an interview with Mohamed El -Erian, Senior Economist at Allianz, who broadcast on the “confrontation with the nation with Margaret Brennan” on August 24, 2025.

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Margaret Brennan: We are now moving to the American economy. Mohamed El -Erian is the chief economic advisor in Allianz, and this morning from Greenwich, Contecticut. Good morning to you.

Muhammad Al -Iryan: Good morning, Margaret.

Margaret Brennan: So we saw the reference of the Federal Reserve Speaker on Friday that the Federal Reserve will start, as expected, to reduce prices soon, but he also cited slowly economic growth and the refrigeration market. So why did the financial markets gather?

Muhammad Al -Arian: It is finally the focus of the risks that are more important to the American economy at the present time. By creating the Federal Reserve, it must be provided as two things, the maximum stability in prices, and the Federal Reserve in inflation is looking for a little higher and poorly higher the labor market. And what Powell recently did, and many of us feel that he should have done this earlier, he said that the risks to the employment side are higher than the risks to the inflation side, and therefore there is something that justifies the reduction in the interest rate. As you know, many of us felt that he should have reduced last month.

Margaret Brennan: Well, the President of the Federal Reserve said that the highest customs tariffs are significantly reshaping the entire World Trade System. The most tightly immigration policy slowed the growth of employment, and there are major changes in taxes and regulation that you cannot know, as you know, at this stage, but it is a lot of uncertainty. Since economists have to build from models and data, how do you predict the place we go, basically, he says that he throws your models?

Muhammad Al -Arian: So one of the problems is that he did not look forward enough. He was very dependent on the data, and thus he tended to delay. See, there is something promising in our future, and this is the enhancement of productivity that comes from exciting innovation in artificial intelligence in life sciences, robots and other fields. We just have to manage a few difficult months in the coming period. If this challenge is placed, we will not be able to obtain opportunities to compensate for many structural opposite winds, and this includes high debts and high deficit.

Margaret Brennan: I want to ask you about something we were discussing with Congressman Laureler directly in front of you, and this is this unusual decision for the American government to take a stake in Intel from the chips maker. That company was struggling recently and criticized the CEO by the President of the United States. He was criticized by the Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Tom Couton. President Trump mentioned all this on Friday, and he said this.

(The sound begins on the tape)

President Donald Trump:

He walked in the desire to keep his job and ended up giving us $ 10 billion to the United States. So we picked up 10 billion dollars. We do a lot of such deals.

(Sound on the ends of the tape)

Margaret Brennan: The president said the CEO wanted to keep his job, so he made a 10 % stake in his company. Does this refer to a new era of US policy? I mean, central planning for the economy?

Muhammad Al -Arian: I don’t think so, Margaret. See, as a member of Congress said, it is a good to send a message that companies will not get anything for nothing, and this is what they have been accustomed to since 2008, all the rescue operations. And what they say now-

Margaret Brennan:-which was paid-

Muhammad Al -Arian: which was reviewed, but at that time, the government took a tremendous danger in many regions. The most important discrimination, if it is permissible, here, is between ownership and control. Yes, the government can possess 10 %, but it should not control how this company is managed by its relationship, because once we go in this way, which is a truly dangerous path, which will eat it far away to make America really distinct, which is a dynamic and pioneering economy.

Margaret Brennan: I think the Minister of Commerce said it will not be control, but this is something to be monitored. I also want to ask you about political pressure, not only for the Federal Reserve Chairman, who nurtured him, but the president is now threatening to shoot the ruler of the Federal Reserve, Lisa Cook. They accuse her without publicly revealing evidence of mortgage fraud and urging the investigation. In fact, the Ministry of Justice wrote a letter to President Powell, and encouraged it to remove it. Are you concerned that this began to be a pattern here of political intervention with the federal reserve?

Muhammad Al -Arian: So these allegations are not proven, and it is important to emphasize this. After he just said, this is the fifth time in the past five years that there have been allegations against the Federal Reserve official. And four of them already had to resign. So what concerns me is that it seems that there is a culture that developed in the Federal Reserve, which led to this four resignation. But I am very concerned about maintaining the independence of the federal reserve. The independent central bank is crucial to the welfare of the economy, and there are many reasons for this. This is how you know, one should distinguish between the two. I can’t talk to unpaid allegations, but I think it is really important to defend the independence of the central bank.

Margaret Brennan: Well, as I understand it, the ruler said that she wants, as you know, share information, and deny the commission of any violations here. But the fact that the president is the one who directs attention towards her, does this not indicate that even if Jerome Powell is heading alongside the Federal Reserve Chairman, this will not stop this great light on the strong central bank, and that the fear that you have of political intervention may not disappear?

Muhammad Al-Arian: Yes, and I- my fear and my anxiety is that the longest Powell president is in his position, and he runs out in May, the longer he has been in office until then, the more this is a magnet for the attack, not only the deeper attacks by the president, but it is much broader than the political system. This is something that a few people feel anxious.

Margaret Brennan: Muhammad Al -Arian, thank you very much for sharing your vision today. We will leave it there. We will return in a moment.