CNBC host Jim Cramer said Tuesday that the falling stock market is a “screaming” warning to Donald Trump to change course when it comes to his tariffs.
After explaining the recent decline in consumer confidence, the Mad Money host said: “We have plenty of room to reverse the mood.”
“But the stock market is beginning to say to President Trump, look, it’s just not worth it,” he said. “Even if you want to bring back jobs to America—manufacturing jobs—there’s a way to do this without causing a collapse in consumer confidence in the service economy."
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“Right now, the stock market is saying that President Trump needs to change course on how he tries to implement the tariffs,“ he went on. ”It’s screaming that we have the wrong approach. And the president should not ignore that scream, because that’s how you end up in a recession.”
Earlier in his monologue, Cramer referenced comments Trump had made downplaying the significance of the stock market.
“Markets are going to go up and they’re going to go down but, you know what, we have to rebuild our country,” Trump told reporters Tuesday.
But Cramer explained what Trump hasn’t considered.
“Maybe if you’re in power [or] you’re not up for re-election, the stock market can be ignored,” Cramer said.
“This is what the president’s forgetting: The stock market serves a dual role. Yes, it makes rich people richer, no doubt, at least when it’s going up,” he continued. “But when it goes down, it can also be a signal—a signal that things aren’t well in the economy, that businesses are getting tougher and that layoffs could be on the table.”
Cramer then criticized Trump for the “angry” manner in which he’s going about the tariffs.
“Big picture, I mostly agree with the president’s attitude toward trade, even if I disagree with the details and certainly don’t like the angry way he’s handling it,” he said.
After taking a few calls, the former hedge fund manager circled back to how the current economic situation could deteriorate further if Trump insists on continuing to do things the same way.
“Right now, the market is trying to tell President Trump that he shouldn’t be so rancorous and angry. Just try to get the job done sotto voce," he said. “Just fly lower, please.”
“And if he keeps ignoring that message, we could end up a hell of a lot lower than where we are with stocks and with the economy.”
