CNBC's Jim Cramer: Maybe I Should Have Hit Jon Stewart With A Chair

Jim Cramer, the host of CNBC's Mad Money and a former hedge fund manager, is never one for biting his tongue.

But in a profile in New York Times magazine, Cramer says he wished he'd been more outspoken to one particularly famous critic. In the profile, Cramer discusses that now famous exchange with the Daily Show's Jon Stewart:

Over two years later, thoughts of the interview continue to get a rise out of Cramer. “The old me would have hit Stewart with a chair. I’m proud I didn’t do that. I controlled myself. But maybe I shouldn’t have. Maybe I should have taken the gloves off," Cramer says, according to The New York Times. "When Stewart talked about how his 75-year-old mother lost money in the market, I could have said: ‘Hey, your brother Larry Leibowitz is one of the heads of the New York Stock Exchange. Why didn’t he give your mom advice?”

Cramer expressed additional frustration about Stewart had pegged him as the representative of financial crisis. From the NYT profile:

"'They wanted to make me the Face of the Era, and they succeeded. Rick Santelli’s a conservative. Ideological. O.K., I get that. But me? I was very anti-Bush. I’m a Democrat, I’ve got the canceled checks to prove it, and suddenly I’m the enemy? Me? Me?'”

Early Friday, Cramer came to his own defense again, via Twitter. Check out his tweets below:

"[S]o chill and elevate your game. Be a Yankee."

Below are Cramer's tweets directed at various online critics:

Read the entire pieceat the NYT.

Comments

[decrepittex]

12:13 PM on 06/19/2011

He lost the debate back then and now he's bringing the loss back to everyone's attention?? He'd do well to just let it be. And Jim, just FYI, normally there are chairs (notice the s for more than 1) in a room. But you look like a wussie and he might not have needed a chair.

[DSciarrino]

12:01 PM on 05/17/2011

Hey Jim, when your in a hole, and want to get out, STOP DIGGING! Why on earth, other than to get your mug in front of people again, would you want to get into a firefight with Jon Stewart? Obviously, you only want to get your mug in front of people again. . .

[MichaelRCooke]

12:00 PM on 05/17/2011

Gosh darn it, if Jim Cramer had just let this go - I wouldn't have found myself checking out the footage of the exchange which is still available online. Jim Cramer is right. If Jim Cramer had in the show picked up a chair and physically assaulted John Stewart, it would not have made him look any worse. Lol!

[joe kim]

11:32 AM on 05/17/2011

I might start watching CNBC again if they got rid of people like Cramer and Liesman. Till they do I get my news from Bloomberg. Even though Bloomberg isn't the most unbiased television out there, they are better than CNBC.

What most people want is real unbiased news. The television news out there today is all spin. I don't care how many times CNBC Bloomberg and other news channels say the economy is getting better because the stock market is going higher. Until I see it with my own eyes I won't believe it. I know people that have kids graduating from very good Universities this year and none of them have jobs.

I know people that have been out of work for years.... not months, but years. These are graduates of big schools with good resumes (till about 2 years ago) and they still can't get jobs.

I know people that have stopped paying their mortgages and have been waiting for the bank to kick them out of their homes.

I know people that have been using food stamps just to get by.

People like Cramer tell you that everything is great, and there is no inflation, why watch them?

It is just a joke, and you aren't watching news, you are watching propaganda. It is a waste of time.

[Ibackobama]

11:08 AM on 05/17/2011

Apparently Jon Stewart's comments really hit the spot for Cramer to revisit this waaay after the fact!

[LamAng]

10:32 AM on 05/17/2011

Mr. Cramer, move on....it's been so long already. You lost the verbal argument, then you wish you would have hit him with a chair? Then you think that will make you right?

[IamYourDrillThrall]

10:02 AM on 05/17/2011

Bipolar.

[tacevad]

08:43 AM on 05/17/2011

Jim Cramer "bullish on Lehman Bros" boooyah! /snark

[MosesDidItBest]

05:39 AM on 05/17/2011

Man up Cramer, Jon Stewart destroyed you by airing clips of you contradicting YOU.

Even after all that you're insane now to claim you could have been tougher. Grow up, you can't hide from the truth especially when it's YOU constantly contradicting yourself.

Still wrong, poor defense, actually there was no defense you could have raised. It isn't just a matter of too little too late, because you never cite what it was Stewart did wrong. You whine because you had no defense then, just so you know, whining is not a defense.

What exactly do you think you could have done then, invent more contradictions about your contradictions?

The only thing that surprised me is that you stayed on the show and took a beating from a bemused Stewart. It was like watching Muhammed Ali beating up on Pee Wee Herman.

It was not remotely a contest or debate, it was that one sided.

[Funn]

10:08 PM on 05/16/2011

You know what they say about Wall Street, "those who can't do give out old information on a post game cable TV show".

[spc5]

03:30 PM on 05/16/2011

Wall Street carnival barker.

[IfIonlyknew]

03:28 PM on 05/16/2011

I could imagine Cramer throwing all the pool furniture in the pool.

[ColoradoCool]

02:30 PM on 05/16/2011

Me thinks the gentleman doth protest too much.

[Impolitics]

01:44 PM on 05/16/2011

If Cramer's aim is as accurate as his economic predictions, Stewart has nothing to worry about.

http://twitter.com/#!/Impolitics

[MamandesFilles]

01:41 PM on 05/16/2011

Congratulations for your personal growth... now you kind of act human. I believe that I will withhold my applause for when you start acting adult.