‘They’re Crushing Us!’ CNBC’s Jim Cramer Flips Out on Trump Over Stock Market — Says He’s ‘Manufacturing’ a Recession

CNBC host Jim Cramer went off on President Donald Trump for fueling recession fears and cratering the stock market, noting competitor markets are “crushing us” and accusing Trump of potentially “manufacturing” a recession — or worse.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped over a thousand points Monday and closed at -890 points amid fears fueled by Trump’s repeated refusal to rule out the possibility of an impending recession over the weekend — first during a Fox News interview that aired Sunday morning and then during a press gaggle on Air Force One.

The plunge followed similar drops last week amid scattershot implementation of Trump’s trade policy.

On Tuesday morning’s edition of CNBC’s Squawk on the Street, Cramer repeatedly told co-host Carl Quintanilla that if there’s a recession, it will be because Trump manufactured it, and slammed Trump’s handling of trade with ostensible allies. He went on to say Trump is “playing with fire,” and accused him of “arson.”

As he spoke, Cramer became apoplectic at the idea of foreign stock markets “crushing” our own:

JIM CRAMER: If we have a recession, banks are the worst stocks. I don’t think we’ll have a recession–. Like I said, it’s manufactured. It’s manufactured.

CARL QUINTANILLA: Well. That doesn’t mean there won’t be. I’m not sure I understand, you–.

JIM CRAMER: Oh no, manufactured could easily caused recession. Absolutely. I don’t, you know, I’m not I’m not saying that manufactured means it’s not going to happen.

CARL QUINTANILLA: Right.

JIM CRAMER: I’m saying manufacturing is that you can make it happen. And when you get angry and when you you kind of lose your temper and you get mad instead of, like, the way Sheinbaum handle it in Mexico, it gets people nervous and upset.

They want the president to be a little happier. They want, you know, there’s nothing wrong with being happy. You can be tough as nails and be happy.

But right now it just feels like, oh, we’re going to just screw every– you know, people be screwing us for years and we’re going to fight back, which is true. It’s absolutely true.

But you got to explain it very calmly and empirically how we’re being hurt by an Italy.

CARL QUINTANILLA: Yes.

JIM CRAMER: How we’re being hurt by German. And this is going to stop and we’re going to make it stop. And then don’t scream at those countries.

It doesn’t work! It doesn’t work. It doesn’t work because they know that they can stand their ground. You tell them, look, I am going to scream you at you. Help us, help us, and we’ll help.

CARL QUINTANILLA: That’s still the. The process of retaliation is starting to come into full effect. We heard the comments yesterday from Canada about electricity, taxes and.

JIM CRAMER: Oh, I know–.

CARL QUINTANILLA: Doug Ford. I’ll gladly shut it off completely if I have to.

JIM CRAMER: Smoot-Hawley 60% increase in tariffs. There isn’t anyone in any history book. I know the president reads history. There’s anyone in any history book that doesn’t say that wasn’t considered–.

That was a considered reason why we had the Great Depression. There isn’t a soul who’s ever said that. You look. Go read Galbraith’s book. It’s really quick. It was a direct cause of the of the depression, not the recession.

CARL QUINTANILLA: So it–. It is playing with fire. You think?

JIM CRAMER: Absolutely. But is it arson?

CARL QUINTANILLA: Meaning that you can contain the blaze, is trhat what you’re saying–

JIM CRAMER: No, meaning that you’re doing it–. Maybe it’s deliberate!

CARL QUINTANILLA: Right.

JIM CRAMER: And it doesn’t make any sense that you don’t want people to be laid off because of what you said.

People are scared, Carl. You don’t scare people. You don’t scare–. It’s just. It’s a wrong call. It’s all message. People are scared!

Come out with a little bit of humor. Come out and say, listen, I’m going over to Germany. You know it’s going to be different for the Germans going forward. Not like, you know, I hate Germany. I mean, come on. They were our allies

CARL QUINTANILLA: Now you’re going–

JIM CRAMER: — until about fifteen minutes ago.

CARL QUINTANILLA: Now, the Fundstrat raised this question yesterday. Do you think the president is willing to watch the German and Chinese stock markets go to the moon while ours craters on?

JIM CRAMER: This weekend I did a piece and I said, everyone keeps thinking about the Dow.

I think that the president is competitive versus other countries. And he could very quickly say, look, you know, he’s distinguished himself as not caring about the stock market.

Well, how about their stock markets? They’re crushing us!

Are we really going to let the Italian stock market beat us? Is Spain going to– Spain?!? Spain?!? I mean, are you kidding me?!?

Watch above via CNBC’s Squawk on the Street.