Jim Cramer's path to Ohio State included a controversial stop on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." The colorful host of CNBC's "Mad Money," who will tape his show at the Drake Union on April 22, said that he took the high road during the confrontation.
"It was a complete and utter ambush," Cramer said in an interview with The Lantern. "He told my staff that it was going to be fun, convivial, no clips, but [it] doesn't matter, he's a comedian, he can do whatever he wants."
During the interview, Stewart rolled clips from TheStreet.com, Cramer's financial Web site. The clips showed Cramer, a former hedge fund manager, discussing the advantages of short selling, which allows the seller of a financial instrument to profit from a decline in the value of the instrument.
"Was it a fair fight? No, it wasn't even a fight. I came on with the idea of taking a high road approach and discussing the issues, obviously [Stewart] came on strictly to try to humiliate me," Cramer said. "It was brutal. Was he stand-up? Absolutely not. Did he comport himself as a gentleman? Hardly. It was a deposition; he wants to be a prosecutor."
Cramer was also critical of Stewart's conduct off-camera.
"He had an animus toward me. At the conclusion of the interview, not on the mic, he said, 'I picked the wrong guy, I'm sorry,' but that's not gonna get out there," Cramer said. "He just said it to me as just a throwaway. His goal was just to humiliate and destroy me and probably get me fired, and last I looked, I still have a show."
Cramer said that Stewart used selective editing to work toward that goal.
"I think that people who watch ["Mad Money"] know that the show that I do is very different from the show that the critics say it is," he said. "I think that Jon Stewart has never seen my show, ever."
Cramer said that while "you can pick any single clip to make people fib," Stewart could have also shown clips of some of Cramer's correct predictions.
"Those are the calls that I care about, but they're not gonna mention those calls - that would make me look good. It's nobody's interest to make me look good," he said. The selective editing extended to the cutting room floor, Cramer said.
"It was a 20 minute interview, he picked the worst eight minutes to make me look as horrible as possible. It's his show, he can do whatever he wants. If he comes on my show, it'll be a fair discussion, but he's not gonna come on my show, because he's all about his [ratings] numbers," he said.
Cramer said that although the interview was "allegedly disastrous" for his own career, "my [ratings] have never been better."
"I've got more people watching me than ever before, and I handled myself like a gentleman, and I took the high road," Cramer said. "I only know that road."
Cramer said that he was not given a fair chance in the interview, and was consequently "eviscerated." He compared the experience to playing in a football game in which there were no referees and he was never allowed to have the ball.
"I left the field with tire tracks on my back, but [Ohio State has] a lot of good people who play sports, not just academics, and you understand that when your team is going to suffer a beat-down that is unfair, you shake the guy's hand, you walk with your head high, and you leave," he said.
Cramer also questioned Stewart's credibility.
"I am a highly controversial figure [on "Mad Money"]. I was not a controversial figure when it came to making money. And I can tell that guy, when he's made his first 100 million in the market, I will respect his judgment about the market."
Calls to Comedy Central seeking comment were not immediately returned.
Dan McKeever can be reached at mckeever.16@osu.edu.
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