Kevin O’Leary And Brianna Keilar Tussle On CNN After He Suggests Market Correction Is a Buying Opportunity

CNN anchor Brianna Keilar tussled with entrepreneur and TV personality Kevin O’Leary during a segment on the stock market tipping near a correction on Friday as the war in Iran leads to further declines.

Keilar began the interview by asking, “How concerned are you as you’re watching the Dow on the verge of correction territory?”

“I’ve been at this a long time. There’s always volatility, and you can go back just over the last 36 months and see different events — including ‘Freedom Day,’ when we started tariffs and everything else. We had massive corrections, and of course over time you realize they become buying opportunities,” began O’Leary, sounding a positive tone. He added:

You never catch the bottom, but I’ve actually been adding to my positions lately because the fundamentals and earnings this year look pretty good. And we also have the productivity gains of AI. No one’s talking about that right now because we’re all discussing the price of the input — energy costs going up. No question that’s an issue. But you could see oil at $75 in 45 minutes if this conflict is resolved. And I also know that about commodities.

So it’s really about what the outcome of this conflict is going to be. And the one very encouraging development for investors is the actual narrative coming out of the UAE. For the first time ever in 60 years, instead of staying on the sidelines, they’re actually talking about the status quo being not acceptable going forward. They said it twice — out of UAE, and they also went to see Vance.

Vice President Vance has said the same thing regarding energy. That’s unprecedented. Now, a lot of people didn’t make news out of that, but for me it’s very important, because whatever we have now is not going to work out. And so you’ve got an alliance of the willing, including Saudi Arabia. They’re here in Miami right now, two blocks from here. This is the number one discussion going on at the PIF conference, specifically this. Trump will speak in about two hours here. He’ll talk about this. But you have to, as an investor, look out 60 and 90 days from now. Even if energy stays up here for another 30 days, it’s not going to affect the long-term position of earnings.

Keilar pushed back, “Okay, but Kevin — you’re on CNN and, you know, it sounds like you see opportunity here, and maybe investors see opportunity, but everyday Americans are not looking at this and seeing opportunity or feeling opportunity. And I know that you’ve said Americans are willing to take some pain for long-term energy security. But this consumer sentiment report that’s out shows that even rich people are freaking out about the cost. Their sentiment is not yours — it’s a far cry from it.”

O’Leary replied, “There are different opinions in the market, obviously. My job is to deploy capital. That’s what I have to do every day, whether the market’s up 700 points or down 700 points. So I ask myself: what’s changed fundamentally for this year? Now, if you believe — and you’re suggesting some people do — that this war is an endless war and that we’re going to have energy prices above $95 in terms of oil —”

“Kevin, let’s rewind a little bit because I have a limited amount of time with you. I’m not suggesting that this is an endless war, although it has not ended yet. But what I’m suggesting is that when you’re talking about commodities and oil going back to a certain price per barrel, that’s not what happens for gas,” Keilar continued, adding:

And the president — today there’s an event, farmers can’t afford this, things don’t spring back immediately, they’ve already required a cash infusion, they’re looking at the price of diesel, Trump’s shouting out a gold tractor today. You’re talking about opportunities for investment. That’s not how they see it, right? It’s tough for them. Is he getting it?

“I’m telling you, I get it. Volatility causes angst, but unfortunately in capital markets, you get volatility — and you’re seeing it happen right now. It’s not a straight line up. But I would ask anybody to just go back 36 months and look at the American economy’s chart through all it’s been through, including all kinds of events that caused major corrections,” O’Leary replied, adding:

This is another one. And yes, of course you can freak out — but that’s useless to me. There are millions of people who have a job like I do. We don’t freak out. We can’t afford to freak out; we have to think strategically about where we’re going. And what I’m saying is I actually like where we are going. So at the end of the day, I’m not saying I support war — I don’t.

But I see a difference now that I’ve never seen before in 60 years. We’ve gone through conflict in that region for 60 years, and finally we’re getting a different tonality that would be good for the whole world if this thing gets resolved. And that’s what I’m thinking about. The old adage: think where the puck is going, not where it is right now. I have to do that. I have no choice. That’s what I think.

“Yeah, let’s hope that is correct — and we shall see. Kevin, we’re not sure when, but at some point we know that we will. Kevin O’Leary, thank you very much,” Keilar concluded.

Watch above via CNN.

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