CNBC's Jim Cramer said Monday that Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren's two-step "Medicare for All" transition proposal shows "she is not as left as you thought."
"A softer Elizabeth Warren is something we're going to have to start expecting," Cramer said on "Squawk on the Street." However, he added he was "shocked that she did this" with one of her signature plans.
Generally, candidates don't usually move toward the center until after they lock up their party's nomination and start looking ahead to the general election.
On Friday, Warren said that as president she would look to pass a bill allowing all Americans to either buy into Medicare for All or get health coverage for free through special budget rules that would only require a simple majority vote in the Senate. The Massachusetts senator also said she would not move to eliminate private health insurance until her third year in office. That would fall under another measure to fully transition to Medicare for All.
Warren's opponents have targeted her and her fellow 2020 Democratic presidential contender Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., for wanting to eliminate employer-based insurance. However, Warren's move sets her apart from Sanders, who wants to set up a national insurance program over four years.
"She is the single-payer option," Cramer said, stressing "it is amazing" that Warren pushed back her goal for full Medicare for All. The "Mad Money" host has, in the past, admitted to having a soft spot for Warren because of her thoughtful approach about difficult problems facing the nation.
Cramer has also said he's tried to assuage Wall Street concerns about the liberal candidate. "The fear of Sen. Warren is getting overblown," he said in October, three weeks after saying financial industry CEOs and other corporate leaders were telling him that "she's got to be stopped."
Warren is No. 2 in the Real Clear Politics national polling average with nearly 21% support. Former Vice President Joe Biden leads the Democratic presidential nominating race with 26%. Sanders is third with almost 18%.