If there is one lesson Jim Cramer has learned this time around in earnings season, it is that retail cannot be held hostage by the shopping mall .
This became blatantly obvious to Cramer when Michael Kors (KORS) reported what looked like good numbers on the surface, but when he dug deeper, he realized weak department store traffic led to a negative quarter and weak forecast.
"The conference call took my breath away," the " Mad Money " host said.
Newell Brands (NWL), which sells lots of products in stores like Target, also said the mall was a challenge.
"It has gotten to the point where even mentioning the mall on a conference call is the kiss of death. They are dying shrines to spending the old way," Cramer said.
As the criticisms of President Donald Trump 's approach continue to pile up, Cramer reminded investors that the recent strength in the stock market is not because of Trump .
Instead, it is based on earnings and the belief that companies can do even better.
"There is a lot of raw emotion when it comes to Trump and when people get emotional, even really smart professional money managers, they stop being able to analyze the situation objectively," Cramer said.
There may be a correction one day, and Cramer recommended maybe investors should raise cash for that event. Maybe the president will tell the Chinese he is done tomorrow and they can't sell in the U.S. anymore. That could cause a crash, Cramer said. Or maybe Trump calls for a Chinese boycott. That would bring down earnings.
"As far as I'm concerned, things are better and that, not Trump, might be the real secret sauce behind this extraordinary and very real rally," Cramer said.
Shares of Centene (CNC) soared more than 5 percent on Tuesday after reporting a strong quarter, including revenue up 89 percent year-over-year, and robust full-year guidance for 2017.
Centene is a healthcare provider that specializes in government-sponsored programs like Medicaid and Medicare. The company has done well under the Affordable Care Act, because the law included an expansion to Medicaid, which meant more business for Centene.
As the healthcare environment becomes murky amid Trump's agenda to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, Cramer spoke with Centene's CEO Michael Neidorff who said it could take years for that to happen.
"I have said all along that it is business as usual. We have insisted on continuing to do our thing the way we do it and it is working out very well. In fact, we told the Street today in our call that we actually have over $400 million that we will be paying back in on the risk adjuster this year," Neidorff said.