PRESIDENT Donald Trump has claimed that Nancy Pelosi is “crazy” after TV host Jim Cramer said it to the House Speaker’s face during a live interview this week.
On Tuesday, Pelosi was live on CNBC with Cramer, talking about another stimulus package and when Americans could expect a bill to pass Congress after months of hold up.
Cramer, a fast-talking former hedge fund trader who hosts the show Mad Money, told Pelosi: “What deal can we have, Crazy Nancy?”
But Cramer quickly blamed Trump.
“I’m sorry, that was the president. I have such reverence for the office. I would never use that term,” he added.
“But you just did,” Pelosi responded.
Cramer tried to backtrack again after that, saying, “You know what I mean.”
Pelosi then took the opportunity to slam the president for his tendency to give fellow politicians unflattering nicknames.
Cramer first defended himself but later apologized, saying he was trying to make a point about Washington intolerance that fell flat.
“It was a tongue-in-cheek attempt to make a point about the harsh tone of negotiations in Washington,” he said.
“But it fell completely flat and I apologize for that. ”
On Wednesday, the president quote-tweeted a video of Cramer’s on-air apology – and told Cramer he didn’t mess up in his interview with Pelosi.
“Jim, you didn’t make a mistake. It’s true, and that’s why you said it. No pandering!” Trump tweeted.
During the show on Tuesday, Pelosi said Trump calls people nicknames because he’s insecure.
“Anything the president says is a projection of his own insecurities,” Pelosi said. “He calls other people crazy, because he knows he is … he’s a master of projection.”
Among the president’s favorite nicknames, aside from Crazy Nancy for Pelosi, are “Sleepy Joe” for Joe Biden, “Crooked Hillary” for Hillary Clinton, “Crazy Bernie” for Bernie Sanders, and many more.
Trump has also repeatedly blamed Pelosi for holding up another coronavirus relief package, and another round of $1,200 stimulus checks – and accused Congressional Democrats of refusing to pass a bill before the election.
Last week, Republicans introduced a new “slimmed” down $500billion relief package, but the bill failed to pass the Senate.
In a joint statement, Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said that the Republican proposal “doesn’t come close to addressing the problems and is headed nowhere.”
House Democrats had initially approved a $3trillion relief package back in May, but the bill never passed and Congress couldn’t agree on several aspects of the package before breaking for summer recess in August.
With both the House and Senate currently back in session, there has been some hope that an agreement can be reached this month.
If Congress can agree on a package within the next ten days, and another round of stimulus checks is included, they could begin being sent out to eligible Americans in around two weeks.
