If you’ve made it this far in life without encountering CNBC’s Jim Cramer, here’s quick primer: a former hedge fund manager and cofounder of TheStreet.com, Cramer is probably best known for his show, Mad Money, in which he jumps around a set like a circus clown on speed, honking horns, screaming about stocks. The show, which should come with a warning for people prone to seizures, has been running for nearly two decades, and in one memorable episode, Cramer’s head nearly popped off as he shouted at a caller, “No! No! No! Bear Stearns is fine! Do not take your money out!” He was referring to the former investment bank, whose stock collapsed just days later and was taken over by JPMorgan Chase for a very sad $10 a share.
That was just one of the more infamous episodes of Cramer’s show, but while they don’t all involve him advising viewers to stay bullish on a bank literally about to go out of business, they do all feature a hyperactive host screaming into the TV like a crazed carnival barker. All of which to say it was a little rich—not to mention wildly offensive!—when Cramer called House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “crazy” to her face during a live interview on Tuesday.
Speaking to Pelosi about congressional negotiations over a new coronavirus relief package, Cramer questioned the House speaker about a CNN interview in which she expressed optimism about the prospect of a deal, despite talks between Democrats and the Trump administration being stalled. “Really?” Cramer said. “I mean, I thought I’d take it right off the table right this very minute. You’ve got [White House Chief of Staff] Mark Meadow[s] going and saying he was the skunk at the party. He didn’t really—you know, he’s gotten in the way between you and, I think, [Treasury] Secretary [Steven] Mnuchin. I mean, what deal can we have, Crazy Nancy?”
He then added, “I’m sorry, I—that was the president,” referring to Donald Trump’s derogatory nickname for the Speaker. “I have such reverence for the office, I would never use that term.”
“But you just did,” Pelosi said. “But you just did.” Then Cramer told her, “Oh, come on. You know what I mean,” to which Pelosi charitably responded: “I know what you meant. I do. I do.”
Later, apparently angered that the media chose to report the exact words that came out of his mouth, Cramer defended himself in 10 tweets and retweets including:
If you watch the actual clip it doesn’t really sound as though Cramer was trying to point out how horrible it is when Trump calls Pelosi “crazy” by calling her “crazy,” but maybe the least subtle person in the world was trying to do it in a super low-key way.