April 7th, 2025, is now being dubbed "Orange Monday," and it's left global markets charred and investors crying into their diversified portfolios.

It is the biggest market meltdown since the pandemic, and internet users have wasted no time blaming a single "orange man" as memes about the disaster flood social media.

But how did we even get here? What’s this about Kevin Hassett announcing a 90-day tariff pause that never existed, and why is Jim Cramer being used as a cursed market talisman?

Let's pick through the wreckage of the biggest stock market crash since 2020.

What Caused The 2025 Stock Market Crash?

Inflation was still sticking at 4.2 percent in 2025 and interest rates were climbing higher than free solo climber Alex Honnold. Meanwhile, U.S. debt ballooned to $1.9 trillion.

But the cherry on this economic garbage sundae came when Donald Trump announced his "reciprocal tariffs," a global tax targeting China, Japan, the EU and basically anyone with a flag and an export.

The threat prompted retaliation from every major American trading partner, with countries banding together and vowing to launch their own tariffs on the United States. Upon this terrible news, the markets didn't just wobble — they nosedived like they saw a ghost named 2008.

https://t.co/CdTzF2sfMZ

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 2, 2025

How Did The Market React, And What's With The Fake Hassett Quote About A '90-Day Pause'?

By Thursday, April 3rd, the Nasdaq dropped 6 percent, the S&P 500 and Dow each shed over 5 percent, and $6.4 trillion vanished into the economic abyss.

When markets reopened today on April 7th, Japan’s circuit breakers tripped before you probably finished your coffee. China’s Shanghai Composite plunged 7 percent, its worst day in half a decade.

But as the world braced for the worst in American markets, a cruel glimmer of hope appeared in the form of a false report.

Earlier today, a post by X user @deitaone (a popular pseudonymous account known for reposting Bloomberg Terminal headlines) claimed that Kevin Hassett, Trump’s National Economic Council director, had announced a "90-Day Pause" on the reciprocal tariffs.

The post quickly spread, amplified by financial influencers and by the fact that CNBC was running a lower-third banner citing "Hassett: Tariff Pause Possible” during a live market update.

Here's where things get messy. Although @deitaone claims to have been scrapping Reuters, Bloomberg Terminal and CNBC for his tweets, CNBC themselves were unable to verify the original quote.

Sure enough, the White House issued a strongly worded statement saying that they were not budging on the tariffs, and the Dow erased all momentary gains and continued to fall.

Bloomberg reporter Joe Weisenthal (@TheStalwart) summed up the confusion in a viral post that read, "INSANE market action right now. Market exploded higher on a headline attributed to Kevin Hassett. And now nobody can figure out where it came from and the markets are diving again. An 8% surge and then a 3.5% plunge in a matter of seconds."

How Did The Rest of the Internet React To 'Orange Monday'?

The term "Orange Monday" quickly emerged as the internet’s unofficial branding for the day. The phrase, a play on Black Monday and Donald Trump's trademark hue, first surfaced on April 6th.

One of the earliest posts came from X user @PaulleyTicks and from comedian Louis C.K., who tweeted, "It shall be called Orange Monday."

By this morning, Orange Monday was being used widely across Reddit, X and finance-adjacent Discord servers. On the subreddit /r/neoliberalhell, Redditor u/1897235023190 posted a Death Knocking meme with the Reaper visiting various doors labeled with past financial crashes and knocking on one labeled Orange Monday.

Also earlier today, Barstool Sports CEO Dave Portnoy used the phrase "Orange Monday" to describe the state of the stock market, saying, "Orange Monday, Trump's tariffs have absolutely decimated the market," at the 10:38 timestamp of his video post.

Davey Day Trader Presented by @krakenfx – April 7, 2025 https://t.co/xQLaexVOUz

— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) April 7, 2025

What's Up With People Joking About 'Reverse Jim Cramer'?

CNBC's Jim Cramer had warned on April 5th of an incoming "Black Monday," urging calm in the face of potentially historic losses. But Cramer’s track record has earned him a peculiar corner of infamy online, particularly from the Wall Street day trader crowd who often joke about his stock picks performing poorly, and take his advice as an inverse signal.

On April 5th, 2025, X user @fprosk tweeted, "We are really testing the limits of the Reverse Jim Cramer now," in response to news that the CNBC host warned of a "Black Monday" with record-low stock prices on April 7th.

On April 7th, X user @wallstmemes joked, "Jim Cramer says not to panic," alongside the Chef Slowik Whispering meme, joking that it was now absolutely the time to panic.

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For the full history of Orange Monday, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.