Trump Has Unhinged Excuse for Firing BLS Chief Over Jobs Report

The president is stoking conspiracies in the wake of last week’s jobs report, apparently still writhing around in an attempt to find a beneficial angle on the abysmal economic figures.

“Last week’s Job’s Report was RIGGED, just like the numbers prior to the Presidential Election were Rigged,” Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday. “That’s why, in both cases, there was massive, record setting revisions, in favor of the Radical Left Democrats.

“Those big adjustments were made to cover up, and level out, the FAKE political numbers that were CONCOCTED in order to make a great Republican Success look less stellar!!!” the president added. “I will pick an exceptional replacement. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAGA!”

Trump abruptly fired Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer on Friday after the release of the report, claiming that the Biden-era appointee’s work analyzing the granular data of America’s economy was “faked” and could not be trusted.

At the core of Trump’s gripe with the July report was its revision of figures from the preceding months, which moved the three-month growth average to 35,000, a lag that hasn’t emerged since 2010 and that makes his first six months in office—and his controversial tariff overhaul—look particularly bad. The report’s downsizing also suggested that while some sectors, such as health care and social assistance, gained jobs, the vast majority of the market lost employment.

America’s most prominent economists suggested that the weak jobs report could be the first major indicator that a recession is on the horizon.

Trump’s favor toward the people producing the jobs report has been anything but consistent, apparently entirely dependent on whether the bureau helps him look good and feel good about his administration. In March, when the BLS released a better-than-expected report, Trump elevated and praised the department, claiming that the “great job numbers” were evidence that his trade policies were “already working.” But mere months later, Trump and his top allies are now insisting that the data is phony and can’t be trusted.