Backlash After Trump Removes Labor Stats Official
In a few posts on Truth Social, Trump said the report's numbers were "RIGGED" to make him look bad and suggested, without evidence, that they were "manipulated for political purposes." He ordered the removal of Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, who was confirmed with bipartisan support in 2024.
Despite Trump's claims, according to reporting by the New York Times, most experts, including economists and current and former agency staff members, do not believe there has been evidence of political interference in the labor data.
Voices from across the political spectrum have begun speaking out. In a post on X following the news, Senator Bernie Sanders warned about the precedent of a president firing officials simply for producing data that doesn't align with their preferences.
"No. Mr. President. In America, you do not fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics for releasing a jobs report that you don't like. That's what authoritarians do," Sen. Sanders wrote. "We need serious economists in these positions, not hacks who will only tell you what you want to hear."
Former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg echoed the concern: "The President sees a bad jobs report, and responds by getting rid of the person in charge of the statistics. This is how America becomes a third-rate country."
Even William Beach, Trump's own former appointee and McEntarfer's predecessor at BLS, condemned the move. "The totally groundless firing of Dr. Erika McEntarfer, my successor as Commissioner of Labor Statistics at BLS, sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the statistical mission of the Bureau," he wrote on X.
His full statement with Friends of BLS, a group chaired by former BLS commissioners, calls on Congress to intervene.
Across social media, users seem to be voicing similar criticisms.
"So what happens when the next Jobs Report is bad?" one person asked. "Either report it and get fired, or lie to the public and say it's good? Look at the precedent Trump is setting."
Some compared the move to Soviet-era leadership. "also, this is very Soviet, except that Stalin then arrested and executed the statisticians," @anneapplebaum, a journalist and historian on communism, wrote on X.
"He fires anyone who brings him bad news. This is what dictators do," The Lincoln Project said in a viral tweet.
"What in the dictatorship," another added.
After clips of Trump asking a reporter, "Why should anyone trust the numbers?" and calling the report "phony" went viral on X, many started comparing the moment to George Orwell's infamous dystopian novel, 1984.
(In case you're unfamiliar, the novel follows a totalitarian party who controls every aspect of life, including rewriting history and statistics to align with the party's goals.)
Well...despite growing concerns about trust in future government reports, White House economic advisers have since defended Trump's firing. And it doesn't appear that Trump is letting up, continuing his Truth Social tirades about the jobs report into Monday. He said he plans to name a new BLS commissioner within the next few days.
What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments.
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