On Monday, July 14, 2014, CNBC’s Rick Santelli got into a heated exchange with colleague Steve Liesman and other panelists on the network’s “Fast Money Halftime Report.” The panel was debating whether Federal Reserve policy was “behind the curve.” The debate left the traders behind Santelli applauding and catcalling, and it ultimately led Santelli to walk off the set.
CNBC posted the segment online that day, listing Santelli, Liesman and Paul Richards of UBS among the participants. Mediaite, Money and HousingWire all covered it the same day.
What Santelli argued
Santelli said the Fed was behind the curve and was waiting too long to raise interest rates. He called on the Fed to act more like bankers and let the market set interest rates.
The Blaze reported that his core criticism was that easy-money policies had held rates artificially low and inflated a stock market bubble that benefited the wealthy and connected. “We’re not in a crisis,” he said, adding that then-Fed Chair Janet Yellen and her predecessor Ben Bernanke were still treating the economy as if it were.
On the Fed’s role, Santelli said, “They’re supposed to be clinical! They’re bankers, not psychologists!”
The response on set
Liesman, whom Business Insider described as CNBC’s resident Fed watcher, took the opposite view. He said he wanted the Fed to bring about an economy with low unemployment and low inflation. On valuations, he said stock price-to-earnings ratios were “not particularly out of line.”
Host Scott Wapner said the jury was still out on whether the Fed’s approach would help. According to Mediaite, Santelli answered by asking who the “jury” was. Panelist Josh Brown asked whether Santelli had decided five years earlier that the policy would not work, and whether confirmation bias played a part in his anger.
Santelli replied, “I was right! I was right!” while walking off camera to applause from traders on the Chicago floor. He returned when Liesman began criticizing his record. Liesman told him: “It’s impossible for you to have been more wrong, Rick.” He cited Santelli’s earlier calls on inflation, the dollar and the U.S. economy’s recovery.
Money’s account of the clip said the exchange got heated about two and a half minutes in, boiled over around the six-minute mark, and Santelli left the frame at about 11 minutes.
Why the segment drew attention
Santelli was already well known to cable audiences. Mediaite described him as long considered the godfather of the tea party movement because of his 2009 remarks. Money noted he had made on-air tirades part of his brand at the start of the financial crisis, with a rant against the bailout. That history shaped how outlets framed the 2014 exchange, which several covered as the latest in a series of on-air disputes with Liesman over monetary policy.
The segment was unusual in format as well. A Fed policy argument usually plays out as a measured panel discussion. Here it spilled across a full panel, with colleagues on set and traders on the Chicago floor reacting in the background.
FAQ
Which CNBC program aired the exchange?
It aired on “Fast Money Halftime Report” on July 14, 2014, and CNBC posted the video the same day.
Who took part in the debate?
CNBC’s video listed Santelli, Liesman, Paul Richards of UBS and the show’s panel. Other outlets also named host Scott Wapner and panelist Josh Brown.