Jim Cramer, Image via Screengrab / CNN.
In the wake of President Donald Trump’s stock trading disclosure last week, experts have been picking apart what many have suggested is “smoking gun” evidence that he is engaged in market manipulation for self-enrichment. Essentially, the president has been buying stocks in different tech and pharmaceutical companies, talking them up to inflate their prices, then selling them at a huge profit.
Longtime financial pundit Jim Cramer appeared on CNBC Monday, and appeared totally incoherent while discussing Trump’s trades. Cramer was in the middle of talking about the company Intel when anchor Carl Quintanilla cut him off.
“According to the filings, the president has been trading some Intel,” said Quintanilla suggestively.
“Yeah…” Cramer began.
“Got nothing to say about that?” said co-anchor David Faber, giving Cramer a pat on the arm. “Alright, don’t worry, we’re not having technical difficulties here everybody, but we’ve got to go.”
Cramer has a history of receiving criticism for his statements regarding Trump and finances. During the 2024 campaign, for example, Cramer asserted, “If you care about your paycheck, you go with Trump. That’s what you do.”
Today, 18 months into Trump’s second administration, Cramer's claim hasn’t panned out. Based on the latest numbers, what meager wage gains there have been in recent years have been “eaten up” by inflation caused by Trump’s tariffs and the war on Iran, which has been called the “Achilles heel” of the Trump economy. As a result, 57 percent of Americans now say Trump’s policies have left them “financially worse off.”
Now even those who support the president are flailing to explain his economic moves. As journalist Matt Stoller wondered of Cramer’s on-air fluster, “Was Cramer shocked by the corruption or mad Trump was picking better stocks?”