Trump's claims of 'rigged' jobs numbers challenged by CNBC host
"It's a highly political situation. It's totally rigged. Smart people know it. People with common sense know it," Trump said in an Aug. 5 appearance on CNBC's Squawk Box.
Trump, on Friday, Aug. 1, fired Erika McEntarfer, the U.S. commissioner of Labor Statistics, accusing her without evidence of manipulating jobs data for "political purposes" after the Labor Department reported the United States added a disappointing 73,000 jobs in July. The BLS also revised downward the jobs gains in May and June by 258,000, portraying a much weaker labor market than the one Trump had boasted about.
More: President Trump orders firing of Labor statistics chief after weak jobs report
Joe Kernen, co-host of Squawk Box, countered the president by telling him it's a "big leap" to say the agency's jobs revisions, which were based on statistical changes, mean the system is "rigged."
Kernen noted that the BLS relies on an "antiquated system" of mailed surveys to Americans to compile employment figures.
Kernen added that Trump's decision to fire the McEntarfer would invite criticism about his replacement. "Critics are going to say, 'Hey, he's picking a guy or a gal that's going to give him the numbers that he wants.' So it undermines confidence in the system to some extent."
"That is maybe a bridge too far, according to most people," Kernen said.
Trump defended the move: "I think when somebody says the commissioner is not involved, I don't want to get into any arguments with anybody, why should I? She's a very nice woman, but when they say that nobody was involved, that it wasn't political, give me a break."
During his appearance on CNBC, Trump also falsely stated that the jobs numbers from 2024 during Joe Biden's presidency were revised lower two weeks after the November election.
"Two weeks later, they said I was right," Trump said.
In reality, the Labor Department in August 2024 ‒ three months before the election ‒ announced that it reduced the estimate of total new jobs created between April 2023 to March 2024 by 818,000, the largest such downgrade in 15 years.
In response to Trump's claims, former Labor Statistics commissioners have said that manipulating the jobs data would be virtually impossible, noting the final jobs figures are based solely on data reports and that hundreds of employees provide input on the calculations.
Trump has suggested he could name a replacement for McEntarfer as soon as this week.
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump plans to meet with Putin as soon as next week, New York Times reports
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump plans to meet in person with Russian President Vladimir Putin as early as next week, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing two people familiar with the plan. Trump then plans to meet with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the newspaper reported, adding that the plans were disclosed in a call with European leaders on Wednesday. The White House did not immediately respond to the report but earlier on Wednesday Trump acknowledged that he spoke with European leaders after U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff's "highly productive" meeting with Putin in Russia. While noting that "great progress" was made during the meeting, Trump wrote on Truth Social: "Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come." Trump, who promised to end Russia's war in Ukraine on "day one" during his presidential campaign, has held several phone calls with Putin and has met with Zelenskiy since returning to the White House in January. However, in recent weeks, he has become increasingly frustrated with Moscow over a lack of progress towards ending the three-year conflict.
Miami Herald
26 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Visitors to the U.S. on business and tourist visas may have to pay $15,000 bonds
Some international visitors to the United States might be required to pay up to $15,000 deposits as part of a new visa bond pilot program announced by the State Department this week in a document published in the Federal Register. The pilot program is another strategy the Trump administration is utilizing to crack down on illegal immigration and is meant to discourage the number of visitors who overstay their visas. The State Department said in the filing that those who overstay their visas pose a national security threat to the U.S. The program is being formed as part of the enforcement of a January executive order in which President Donald Trump declared there was an invasion by illegal immigration through U.S. borders. The consular officers in the respective U.S embassies will determine the amount of the bond during the issuance of the visa. Travelers will have to post the assigned bond amount before they are issued a single-entry visa, which will be valid for three months. Travelers with visa bonds would also be limited to traveling in and out of pre-selected airports. The list of airports has yet to be announced. The administration said 500,000 people overstayed their visas in 2023, based on data from the Department of Homeland Security. The pilot bond program will focus on those countries that the administration has identified as having high visa overstays. The program is limited to only B-1 business and B-2 tourist visas. It does not affect students applying for F-1 student visas. The full list of countries has yet to be announced. A State Department spokesperson said business and tourist visitors from Malawi and Zambia who are eligible for the B-1/B-2 visas will have to post bonds starting Aug. 20. According to Homeland Security's 2023 fiscal year visa overstay data, Malawi had a total visa overstay rate of 14% from 1,655 visitors, and Zambia had 11% from 3,493 visitors. The complete list of countries will be published when the program takes effect. This new program comes as South Florida airports saw a decline in the number of domestic and international travellers compared to the previous year. Dan Linblade, the president and CEO of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce, which represents more than 1,250 companies, said in a statement that international business and tourism were vital to the economy and the new bond pilot program is a 'disincentive to travel from abroad.' 'We are concerned of the potential negative impact on international tourism at a time when we see declining numbers related to foreign travel,' said Lindblade. 'If the State Department's focus is only targeted to bad players then the impact will be smaller.' The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, which covers the Sixth District of the Federal Reserve, including Florida, reported in July that group bookings from international travel to the U.S from Canada, Asia, and Europe continued to slow, but there was some growth in overall travel and tourism. In the filing this week, the Department of State said that after reviewing reports going back as far as 2000, when the Immigration and Naturalization Service Data Management Improvement Act was introduced, the reports of entry and exits of nonimmigrant visa holders to the U.S. who overstayed their visas show that thousands of visitors failed to depart by their visa terms. The first Trump administration had tried to initiate a six-month visa-bond pilot program in November 2020. The program was to 'serve as a diplomatic tool to encourage foreign governments to take all appropriate actions to ensure their nationals timely depart the United States after making temporary visits.' It was to run from December 2020 through June 2021. The State Department scrapped the pilot program due to the reduction of global travel because of COVID-19. 'Data collected during the Pilot may also be used to determine the effectiveness of visa bonds at reducing overstays, evaluate concerns about insufficient identity verification, and the extent to which visa bonds may deter otherwise legitimate B-1 and B-2 visa applicants from traveling to the United States,' the State Department said. The bond program will run until August 2026, and the countries on the list will continually be updated over the year. Visitors with bonds will have to file for a refund within 30 days of their departure from the United States. Failure to do so results risks forfeiting the deposits.
San Francisco Chronicle
26 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Trump wields influence over GOP and keeps potential successors vying for his favor
WASHINGTON (AP) — Although President Donald Trump has not directly said he thinks JD Vance should be the heir to his 'Make America Great Again' base of support, he acknowledged this week that his vice president is probably the favorite to succeed him "at this point." But even as he promoted Vance, Trump also made sure to mention Secretary of State Marco Rubio, telling reporters at the White House on Tuesday that his administration's top diplomat is 'somebody that maybe would get together with JD in some form' on a future political ticket. The remarks reflect the massive influence the Republican president currently has over his party. They also serve to promote two of Trump's top advisers without telegraphing the president's singular preference for a successor. Not definitively anointing Vance, or any other Republican, keeps those hoping to succeed Trump vying for his favor, both inside his administration and in the wider Republican field of possible contenders. Speaking with reporters following an executive order signing at the White House, Trump was asked if Vance were the 'heir apparent to MAGA.' 'I think most likely, in all fairness, he's the vice president," Trump said. "I think Marco is also somebody that maybe would get together with JD in some form. ... It's too early obviously, to talk about it, but certainly he's doing a great job and he would be, probably favorite at this point.' When Trump selected the then-39-year-old Vance over other more established Republicans — including Rubio — as his running mate last year, many theorized that Trump was planning for the future of his political movement, angling for a vice president who could carry MAGA forward. Vance has embraced the role at every turn, doing the president's bidding on everything from his relationship with Ukraine to the fight over records related to the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking scandal. Trump, meanwhile, has not hesitated to give Vance high-visibility assignments. As the White House promotes mid-decade redistricting efforts in Texas — and acknowledges it would like the notion to expand to other states — Vance is expected Thursday to discuss redrawing district lines with Gov. Mike Braun during a trip to Indiana. While there, Vance will also headline a fundraiser for the Republican National Committee, which he serves as treasurer. In June he traveled to Los Angeles trip to tour a multiagency Federal Joint Operations Center and a mobile command center amid clashes between protesters and police and outbreaks of vandalism and looting following immigration raids across Southern California. And earlier this year, Vance was in swing congressional districts in his role as lead cheerleader for Trump's signature tax cut and spending law, an assortment of conservative priorities that Republicans dubbed the 'One Big, Beautiful Bill.' He also lobbied senators on Capitol Hill, working to swing GOP holdouts to support the legislation, and in July cast a tie-breaking vote to get the measure passed in the Senate. He's also taken on a robust role related to foreign policy, holding meetings of his own with world leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a trip to New Delhi, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. Rubio, who has described Vance as among his closest friends in politics, said on Fox News Channel on Sunday that he felt Vance "would be a great nominee if he decides he wants to do that.' Other Republicans mentioned as possible 2028 contenders are already making the rounds of early-voting states. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaks at a GOP fundraiser in South Carolina this weekend, and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders headlines an event in that state later this month. Both have taken pains to stay in the president's good graces. Not every Republican contender has gone that route. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, who lost the 2016 nomination to Trump, has been visiting early-voting states, too, but he voted against the president's signature legislative measure. And Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp — who has long harbored ambitions to run for president but has a complicated history with Trump — recently said he was sitting out of a Senate race in his state, a decision telegraphed by some as an indication Kemp might be eyeing the 2028 White House race.
