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Trump Gaggles with Press Before Departing the White House, Sep. 16, 2025

September 16, 2025 · The White House · 0:19:53

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

President Donald Trump took questions on the South Lawn on September 16, 2025, before departing for the United Kingdom state visit, in a gaggle carried on the White House channel. He opened with Federal Reserve news: “Just signed Stephen Miran’s commission. So he is now on the Fed. I’m going to call him in a few minutes from the helicopter… He’s a good man. Most of you know him. He’s very talented. He’ll have a big influence on this — on ’too late’ getting his rates down, I guess.” Of the Fed itself, asked whether it is an independent body, he said: “Oh, it should be. It should be, but I think they should listen to smart people like me… they have to make their own choice. But they should listen.”

On Gaza, the President twice warned Hamas over reports it would use hostages as human shields: “If they do that, they’re going to be in big trouble,” and “Hamas is going to have hell to pay.” On the trip, he called King Charles “my friend” and noted the historic frame — “it’s the first time this has ever happened, where somebody was honored twice” with a state visit — and said the British “want to see if they can refine the trade deal a little bit.” He paid tribute to Robert Redford, whose death was reported to him by a reporter on the rope line: “Robert Redford was great. He had a series of years that he was — there was nobody better.”

On TikTok, the President said: “We have a deal on TikTok. I’ve reached a deal with China. I’m going to speak to President Xi on Friday to confirm everything up… We have a group of very big companies that want to buy it.”

Why it matters

Two dated items enter the record on the South Lawn: Stephen Miran’s seating on the Federal Reserve Board — the appointment at the center of the administration’s rate fight — and the President’s statement that a TikTok deal with China had been reached, days before the September 19 signing session where he reported the Xi call in full.

Scoreboard watch

This gaggle is a scoreboard reference point: the President’s September 16, 2025 announcements that Stephen Miran’s Fed commission was signed and that a TikTok deal had been reached with China, each as stated by the President, to be checked against the Fed’s roster and the deal’s closing.

Sources: The White House, “President Trump Gaggles with Press Before Departing the White House, Sep. 16, 2025” (official upload, embedded above; the upload’s description places the event at the White House). All characterizations as stated by the President in the gaggle.