CNBC host Jim Cramer apologizes for calling Pelosi 'Crazy Nancy' during interview

Perhaps no one wanted to put the toothpaste in the tube more than Jim Cramer.

Cramer, a co-host on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street,” was interviewing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday and quickly acknowledged his error.

“What deal can we have, Crazy Nancy?” Cramer asked during the interview, questioning Pelosi, D-Calif., about negotiations with Republicans on a coronavirus stimulus deal. But he stopped himself by saying, “I’m sorry. That was the president. I have such reverence for the office, I would never use that term.”

“But you just did,” Pelosi responded.

“Oh, come on, you know what I mean,” Cramer said.

“I do, I do,” Pelosi said.

Jim Cramer: “What deal can we have, Crazy Nancy? I’m sorry, that was the president. I have such reverence for the office. I would never use that term ...”

Pelosi: “But you just did. But you just did.” pic.twitter.com/4k2Cw5WL0d

— The Recount (@therecount) September 15, 2020

“Crazy Nancy” is one of the nicknames President Trump has given to his opponents, many of them women, to mock them.

The damage was done and the clip made its viral ways on social media but Cramer tried to atone his words.

Did anyone bother to listen to the whole interview? It was about how horrendous it is that the president calls Speaker Pelosi Crazy Nancy. It is so unfortunate and ill-advised. The people criticizing me must not have realized the point! NEVER should she be called that

— Jim Cramer (@jimcramer) September 15, 2020

“I made a very stupid comment,” Cramer said later on his show “Mad Money.” “It was a tongue-in-cheek attempt to make a point about the harsh tone about the negotiations in Washington but it fell completely flat and I apologize for that.”

Jim Cramer's apology: "I made a very stupid comment. It was a tongue-in-cheek attempt to make a point about the harsh tone about the negotiations in Washington but it fell completely flat and I apologize for that." Video here pic.twitter.com/2PpVhDlVEt

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) September 15, 2020

“As I said immediately after the comment, I want to make it clear that I have an incredible amount of respect for both the Speaker and of course the office she holds,” Cramer added.

To borrow another metaphor, the worms were crawling far from the can.

Whether @JimCramer meant to insult Nancy Pelosi or simply refer to Trump's disparaging attacks, the harmful effects are the same.

We're calling on journalists to stop circulating sexist labels that betray women's skills, insights, & lived experiences as leaders. #WeHaveHerBack https://t.co/GLMSH6ffV4

— TIME'S UP (@TIMESUPNOW) September 15, 2020

What gives Jim Cramer, a news commentator, the right to call Speaker Pelosi “ Crazy Nancy”?! And then he tries to apologize by saying the President calls her that. HE called her that pejorative name. HE needs to be suspended immediately, if not fired outright. https://t.co/Lr8mtghsAt

— Jackie Speier (@RepSpeier) September 15, 2020

1) @jimcramer would never say this to a man

2) @SpeakerPelosi slays Cramer’s chauvinism with her dignity. https://t.co/ABkVfliiW8

— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) September 15, 2020