CNBC's Jim Cramer criticized former President Trump's proposed tariff increases, saying they would “obviously” lead to inflation.
On Monday's episode of CNBC's “Squawk on the Street,” David Faber asked co-host Cramer about the compounding impact that President Trump's proposals on immigration and tariffs could have on wages.
“Well, unless it's Hamilton, I'm against it,” Cramer said, referring to the founding father who, like Trump, adopted a statist approach to economic policy. Supported Impose tariffs on goods to stimulate domestic manufacturing.
When asked if there would be inflation, Cramer told Faber, “Absolutely, absolutely,” but added that he didn't know whether inflation would spike temporarily after the policy was implemented and then stabilize, or whether inflation would continue to rise.
“I don't know,” Kramer said. Mediaite“When we see tariffs like these, we think back to 1929-1932 and how wrong that was.”
President Trump spoke to the Economic Club of New York last week, outlining his economic policies and suggesting that his second term may be roughly the same as his first when it comes to taxes and tariffs.
President Trump said he would push for an extension of the personal tax cuts enacted in 2017 that expire in 2025. He also said he would push for a cut in the corporate tax rate even further than in the 2017 law, lowering it from 21% to 15%.
He also revealed plans to aggressively use tariffs to target companies that outsource work or don't manufacture products domestically.
Trump's tariff plans in particular have drawn criticism from economists, including the chief economists at Goldman Sachs and Moody's Analytics, who say the tariffs could spur inflation and shrink the economy.
Cramer joked that perhaps Trump had seen the popular Broadway show, based on the biography of one of the country's founding fathers, and was inspired by its pro-tariff message.
“Maybe he's referencing Hamilton. Maybe Trump has seen that show. That show is pretty good. He may have seen it twice. That show is pro-tariff,” he said, adding, “Hamilton was a nationalist. So I'm saying Trump may have seen that show.”
The Hill has reached out to the Trump campaign for response.
