CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Thursday that he believes the government is debating some big options to tackle the economic and financial markets crisis arising from the coronavirus pandemic.
Cramer made these comments after the S&P 500‘s first-level, 7% down circuit breakers kicked in and paused trading for 15 minutes and following a call he took live on television around 9:38 a.m. ET on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.”
“I think that’s about to change,” Cramer said about the uncertainty about what further actions the Trump administration may take to deal with the coronavirus fallout.
“I think that they will perhaps consider the idea that the federal government does not need to be paid during this period so therefore the people, the working people, get paid and are protected,” the “Mad Money” host said.
“I think they are debating the notion about whether they should have a trust fund … also debating the notion right now about whether the Federal Reserve should be able to guarantee credit lines,” Cramer said. “The Treasury trust fund would indeed, perhaps, take advantage of the lower rates and make it so that people feel their credit lines would be backed up.”
“I believe that some of these plans that I mentioned are being debated right now and I feel better,” he said. “You’re going to get clarity.”
Later Thursday, President Donald Trump said that markets will be “just fine.” Trump made the comment as he was meeting with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar.
About 30 minutes before he took the phone call, Cramer blasted the U.S. government’s response to the coronavirus, arguing “this is the time for radical action.”
“They know nothing. They know nothing. We know more than they do, and that’s not acceptable either,” Cramer said, hearkening back to his famous 2007 rant about the Federal Reserve before the financial crisis.
“I want the federal government to know more than me. I knew more than they did in 2007, and I know more than they do now and it is disappointing,” he said.
Cramer said he’s worried about companies going bankrupt from the economic damage cause by the coronavirus. “Are we going to sit here and let so many companies go bankrupt because of an illness? I think that is stupid.”
Trump‘s address Wednesday night failed to ease concerns about the possible economic from downturn the coronavirus. Wall Street opened sharply lower Thursday, with the S&P 500 down about 6% midmorning after reopening from the circuit breaker trading pause.
In his prime-time address from the White House, Trump announced a ban on most travelers to the U.S. from much of Europe for the next 30 days. He also said he will be asking Congress to provide payroll tax relief for Americans and instructing the Small Business Administration to “provide capital and liquidity” for small businesses.
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