Aniket PujariCNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday lamented the negative sentiment surrounding the economy, which he thinks the White House is currently projecting. Wall Street’s response has sent the averages tumbling.
“Every day, there is something to celebrate in the business world because the business world is fantastic,” he said. “We’d be in much better shape if the administration would highlight that. Believe me, the bad doesn’t need your help. It’ll get the word out all by itself.”
Investors’ fears of President Donald Trump‘s heavy-handed tariff policies and uncertainty about their rollout continued to weigh on the market during Thursday’s session. The S&P 500 sank 1.39% to end the day in correction, down a little over 10% from its record close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average weathered its fourth day of declines and shed 1.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.96%.
Cramer said he’s not suggesting current economic issues be ignored. Instead, he said Trump’s “no pain, no gain attitude” isn’t working, with the focus on negativity leading to a distorted view that everything in corporate sphere is going badly. The Trump administration has also failed to properly explain why the new tariffs are beneficial to the country, he added. And while the government can’t control the entire economy, it can control its messaging, Cramer continued. He suggested that perhaps officials “shouldn’t celebrate firing people, or brandish a chainsaw like Elon Musk did,” and instead focus on securing better trade deals with other countries.
He pointed to a few developments he thinks are constructive, including strength in stocks of dollar store companies, and how Wall Street was impressed by Intel‘s new CEO pick, which sent shares soaring more than 14%. Cramer also brought up new economic data that suggests inflation is slowing, a development that could pave the way for the Federal Reserve to cut rates, which investors desperately desire.
“I want to accentuate the positive, because when you’re the president of the United States, you can create a negative mood that actually hurts the entire country, even if it’s not intentional,” he said.
The White House did not immediately respond to request for comment.
