Watch the Awkward Silence as CNBC’s Jim Cramer Explains Propaganda Got a Bad Rap Because of ‘Regimes We Didn’t Really Appreciate’
Markets surged this week after news spread from unverified social media posts that China could open its borders and loosen covid restrictions by March. The communist country denied any knowledge, but speculation has run rampant, and on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Jim Cramer had a take so unique it caused a long moment of dead air silence during Tuesday’s show.
The country needs some propaganda on covid policy, he said, adding that people tend to think only of the bad kind of propaganda because of “regimes we didn’t really appreciate.”
Like everything in the country under Xi Jinping‘s regime, the zero covid policy is not just one of brutal enforcement but also massive propaganda both to the world at large and to the Chinese people. Part of that propaganda effort has been to call the vaccines American propaganda, claim they are doing nothing to stop covid, and convince the locked-down nation that intense restrictions on foreign and domestic travel and human interactions are the only way to get through the pandemic.
So rumors that could be changing are tantalizing to investors and businesses wanting the Chinese economy to open back up, but also raise questions about how the government would sell an MRNA vaccine after putting so much effort into demonizing them and convincing people that lockdowns are salvation.
It was on that question that the discussion took place on Squawk Box, with CNBC’s Eunice Yoon reporting and providing insight from within China. She pointed out that the rumored committee to discuss the change in covid response would be headed by China’s chief propagandist.
Cramer noted earlier in the discussion that he does “continue to believe that President Xi is trying to change his zero covid,” and pointing out that the country has been able to reverse engineer a vaccine after stealing intellectual property from companies like Pfizer.
As the discussion continued, Yoon perceptively observed that it’s not merely the question of how to make the change that Xi is considering.
“Also, the other benefit for President Xi of having all these COVID controls is that you are very, very easily able to to track people. And that’s another big benefit for this regime,” she said.
“Yeah, the power of the state, there’s no doubt,” replied Carl Quintanilla.
Cramer then said that it’s good that China stole the intellectual property, in that it means they can now have a vaccine, but that the tough job will be selling the complete reversal.
“They got to deal with- what do you do if you told people the way to beat this is no vaccine and now you have a vaccine? So I think what you need is a propagandist,” he said.
“Outside of the state infrastructure,” prompted Quintanilla.
“Exactly,” replied Cramer.
“To start moving political opinion,” finished Quintanilla.
“But I think when we think of propaganda, we think about other regimes that we didn’t really appreciate,” said Cramer.
And then the awkward silence.
“You’re like, silent,” said Cramer into that pause.
Faber said he was silent thinking of the people stuck at Shanghai’s Disney Resort under lockdown.
Watch the clip above, via CNBC’s Squawk Box.
