Jim Cramer, the host of Mad Money, expressed frustration on Thursday over the negative outlook he believes the White House is projecting about the economy. He explained that while he felt a sense of optimism and wanted to get excited about positive developments in the stock market, he held back.
“I wanted to get excited, but you know what I had to do? I had to hold my breath because when this market’s getting ahead of steam going, you know what you can bet on? The president will post something rancorous, dispiriting, and confusing and the market will immediately get put through the meat grinder.”
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Cramer noted that unfortunately, that is exactly what occurred, triggering a wave of selling that persisted throughout the session. Cramer suggested that a shift in attitude from President Trump could change the tone of the market. Cramer said, “I say we do something,” and proposed imagining a scenario where the President took a more positive approach. He suggested that if Trump were to adopt a positive attitude and use his sense of humor in a constructive way, it could help remind the public that things are not as bad as they may seem. Cramer emphasized that such an approach wouldn’t be unrealistic; instead, it would highlight the good aspects of the economy and shift the narrative away from negativity.
Furthermore, he pointed out that what really matters is the administration’s consistent messaging. He noted that both President Donald Trump and the Treasury Secretary seem determined to emphasize the negative, especially by suggesting that tariffs will cause significant pain. While it is a complicated issue, he believes it is unnecessary to continuously highlight the negative aspects without acknowledging any of the positives.
“It’s not necessary to do this, nor will they highlight anything good that’s going on here. It makes people feel like everything’s terrible, which isn’t true.”
He went on to stress that while the White House cannot control every aspect of the economy, they do have the power to shape the narrative. Cramer suggested that rather than focusing on highlighting hardships, they should consider a more subdued approach, especially when it comes to announcing layoffs or making drastic cuts.
Instead, Cramer urged the administration to quietly focus on improving trade relations with other countries, ensuring that they treat the U.S. more fairly and with fewer punitive measures. If such changes need to be made, he recommended doing so without drawing attention to them.
“So here’s the bottom line: Every day there is something to celebrate in the business world because the business world is fantastic. 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.”
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 7 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money aired on March 13. Cramer talked about how President Trump could post about these stocks on social media to justify the positives they have. We listed the stocks in the order that Cramer mentioned them. We also provided hedge fund sentiment for each stock as of the fourth quarter of 2024, which was taken from Insider Monkey’s database of over 1,000 hedge funds.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
Jim Cramer Talked About These 7 Stocks Recently
7. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 166
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was discussed during the episode of Mad Money and here’s what Cramer had to say:
“‘I hear that people are cutting back. They are scared and they’re worried. I have to get these tariffs home because we are being abused by everyone. Just turn to my webpage. You can see all the tariffs that they’re forcing us to pay. If you have a better way to get these trade barriers down, tell our team we’re and put your name on.’ As it is, I’m surprised Trump doesn’t post, ‘This is the first 10% correction in two years, I told you there would be pain. What a terrible streak for Apple. They are killing that one.’
Doesn’t seem right long term, we all use the phones… Periodically, we’re going to have some down markets, sell-offs, corrections, bear markets, look, they’re fine because maybe sometimes they’re deserving. We’re gonna see some stocks sink, even favorites like Apple because they might have trouble making the quarter.”
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) creates and markets a range of consumer electronics, such as smartphones, computers, tablets, and wearables, along with a variety of accessories and services. The company also provides subscription services like Apple Music, Apple TV+, and Apple Arcade, and manages platforms including the App Store and Apple Pay.
6. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 262
During the episode, Cramer mentioned Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) and said:
“Final stock: ‘They are shelling Mark Zuckerberg today, I think Meta is beating the Chinese, crushing them at their own game. GTS (which means Good to See).’”
Meta (NASDAQ:META) develops products that enable worldwide communication through platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp, as well as augmented and virtual reality hardware, software, and content. Appearing on Squawk on the Street earlier in March, Cramer remarked:
“That Meta, they’re reliant on advertising but it’s good… There’s nothing wrong with Meta other than perhaps advertising which is economically sensitive.”
