Watching the news back in April on President Donald Trump’s announcement of tariffs, many people felt the shock of what they were seeing: levies on exports that would significantly affect the way America functions.
While Trump has expressed that tariffs are a way of encouraging people to buy American-made goods, many also feared they would trigger a trade war — which is exactly what happened.
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Some breathed a sigh of relief when Trump announced a 90-day pause on the tariffs, which originally would have expired on July 7 but have since been extended to August 1.
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But now that the expiration date is drawing closer, the president seems to be ready to stir the pot again, most recently announcing a new 50% tariff on copper. The U.S. imported $17 billion worth of copper in 2024, per U.S. Commerce Department data.
He also announced that he was considering a 200% tariff on pharmaceuticals imported into the U.S.
As the newest chapter of tariff drama unfolds, CNBC’s Jim Cramer has weighed in — and his take is openly critical, to say the least.
Cramer speaks out about the trade war
Cramer is known for being fairly chatty on his X account about the state of the markets and the economy in general, so considering everything going down in the last few days, you’d think you’d see him commenting there.
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But instead, Cramer saved his take for his daily “top 10 things to watch in the stock market” newsletter he sends to his Investing Club members.
Cramer launched right into it at #1, commenting on President Trump’s most recent moves with tariffs.
“Living with contrived chaos,” Cramer wrote. “That’s what we are doing with trade policy like this from the White House. It’s all deliberately created. Nothing has to be done like this. If you have the market at record highs, you can get away with this. That’s what it is about.”
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While Cramer hasn’t said anything further on social media yet on the topic, he did disagree with Trump’s stance in a tweet on July 7 regarding Fed Chair Jay Powell, saying, “Where does Fed Chair Jay Powell rank? You know I think he’s doing an amazing job. What does Peter Navarro say from the White House? This morning on @SquawkStreet it will be civil.”
A few hours ago, Trump said that he thinks Powell should resign immediately, which is the latest in a line of ugly comments the president has directed to the Fed Chair.
Trump draws critics
While many in positions of power seem happy enough to acquiesce to the president, Cramer is not the only one to say that he doesn’t agree with what’s going on with the current administration.
Trump’s most vocal high-profile critic has easily been Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who worked for Trump as a special government employee for months before walking away and taking a very different stance on the president he once supported.
Since leaving, Musk has consistently criticized the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill via his X account, leading the president to say he had gone “off the rails” in a Truth Social post and to say the billionaire was “becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks.”
Musk responded by announcing that he would launch his own political party after taking an X poll to ask what users thought.
“By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it! When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy. Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom,” Musk tweeted on July 5.