President Donald Trump spoke with CNBC anchor Joe Kernen on Thursday just outside the Oval Office at the White House.

The conversation touched on the state of the U.S. economy, America's trade wars – and the president's news-making remarks about the Federal Reserve's ongoing interest-rate hikes.

"I'm not thrilled," Trump said about how the Fed is raising rates while the economy doing so well.

He did argue, however, that the strong economy does make it the right time to pursue his aggressive trade agenda, which has resulted in tariffs on billions of dollars worth of products.

"I'm not doing this for politics, I'm doing this to do the right thing for our country," the president said. "We have been ripped off by China for a long time."

Watch the full interview above.