Mad Money host Jim Cramer shocked his fellow “Squawkers” on CNBC into silence by defending government propaganda and suggesting that people need — get this — “a propagandist” to convince them to get vaccinated.
“Your mic is silent,” Cramer said, staring down two other panelists on the Nov. 1 edition of Squawk on the Street in a conversation about China’s draconian “zero-Covid” strategy. The host, famous for making terrible predictions on the economy, was ranting about China’s draconian COVID-19 policies. “What do you do if you told people the way to beat [COVID-19] is no vaccine and now you have a vaccine?” Cramer asked. “So I think what you need is a propagandist.” [Emphasis added].
Both panelists were momentarily shocked speechless after Cramer seemingly endorsed a vaccine “propagandist.” Chu even engaged in a bit of verbal gymnastics to try and cradle Cramer’s fall. “Outside of the state infrastructure,” Chu stuttered, “to start moving political opinion.” “Exactly,” Cramer responded.
“But I think when we think of propaganda, we think about other regimes that we didn’t really appreciate,” Cramer said, leaving the other panelists speechless, again. “Your mic is silent,” Cramer added, after an awkward silence.
“I am silent,” CNBC reporter David Faber said. “I’m just thinking about those poor people stuck at Disney, Shanghai Disney, for, I mean there are worse places to be stuck,” Faber said. Cramer joked back, “Chief, it’s a real small world after all,” referencing the famous Disney ride and ode to world peace.
Cramer would know about being a vaccine “propagandist,” all right. This is the same guy who yelled at Americans live on air, arguing for vaccine mandates in Dec. 2021: “Require vaccination universally. Have the military run it. If you don't want to get vaccinated, you better be ready to prove your conscientious objector status in court.” [Emphasis added].
Cramer also criticized Chinese propaganda, saying, with a remarkable lack of self awareness, that “a chief propagandist lies like hell. I mean, what’s the point of a propagandist? That’s what they do for a living.”
The CNBC panelists during the latest episode of embarrassing Cramer hot takes also expressed concern at China’s zero-Covid strategy in the Shanghai Disney Resort. The Chinese government “literally kept people in the park until they came back with a negative test. Just astounding,” CNBC senior markets correspondent Dominic Chu said. “Was it three tests, over 24 hours?” Faber asked.
Cramer sounded considerably less concerned over the plight of Chinese citizens trapped in a makeshift prison in what Disney calls “the happiest place on earth.” “Well, they get it!” Cramer exclaimed. “I mean, look, I had a PCR test with someone at 10 and they gave it to me by 5.” He added, “I don’t think it’s wrong.”
Conservatives are under attack. Contact CNBC at cnbcnewspr@nbcuni.com and demand it denounce Cramer’s disturbing endorsement of vaccine propaganda.
