Jim Cramer Did Not Actually Say What He Said Yesterday… Or Something
Yesterday, Jim Cramer annoyed Ann Curry by saying the following words on her little television program, which is known as The Today Show: “Ok, whatever money you may need for the next five years, please, take it out of the stock market. Right now. This week. I do not believe that you should risk those assets in the stock market.”
He then went on to confirm that those people should sell even at a loss. Later that day, as the world reacted to his advice, Jim claimed that he was “subject to misinterpretation today,” but claimed that he could take the heat because he was “born in the kitchen.”
“Everyone says I said sell everything and you know because you watch the show, Alex, that that is quintessentially untrue, but I’m willing to take the heat because I was born in the kitchen.”
If you’re interested in which prognostications of doom Cramer is willing to take responsibility for, you can click here and get his 5 year plan.
Cramer revisited The Today Show today to field insults from their viewers — many of whom accused him of creating a panic.
“Do you think I’m causing a collapse?,” he asked Vieira. “I worked at Goldman Sachs. They almost went out of business. My insurance was with AIG. It did get nationalized. Lehman Brothers is a place I traded with for years. It’s disappeared, as has Bear Stearns. I’ve sold a lot of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae bonds. They don’t exist anymore.
“I could sit back and say, ‘None of this really matters. Everything’s fine,’ ” Cramer added. “Or I can say, ‘Take some off, ride it out, put it in a savings account that’s insured for $250,000.’ To me, that’s [better] safe than sorry. Only in a jittery time would someone who says ‘be safe than sorry’ be pilloried.
“I like the stock market. I still recommend defensive stocks. I do one every night on my show. But I think I’m irresponsible if I tell you everything’s fine.”
Did ‘Mad Money’ host turn into Chicken Little? [Today Show]
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