Trump's solution to latest bad jobs report: Shoot the messenger

In a move you'd expect from a tinpot dictator and not the leader of the world's most esteemed democracy, President Donald Trump on Friday fired the commissioner of labor statistics after the latest jobs report showed his tariffs are paralyzing the labor market.

"I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social, referring to Dr. Erika McEntarfer, who was confirmed to a four-year term as commissioner of Labor Statistics in January 2024. "She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can’t be manipulated for political purposes."

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Trump wrote in the grammatically insane post: "McEntarfer said there were only 73,000 Jobs added (a shock!) but, more importantly, that a major mistake was made by them, 258,000 Jobs downward, in the prior two months. Similar things happened in the first part of the year, always to the negative. The Economy is BOOMING under 'TRUMP' despite a Fed that also plays games, this time with Interest Rates, where they lowered them twice, and substantially, just before the Presidential Election, I assume in the hopes of getting “Kamala” elected – How did that work out? Jerome 'Too Late' Powell should also be put 'out to pasture.' Thank you for your attention to this matter!"

The fact that Trump would fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics—which calculates critical data that policymakers and investors alike use to make business and legislative decisions and ensure economic stability—will now call into question the accuracy of further reports.

“BLS puts out the jobs reports, CPI inflation, productivity and employment cost index, among other key statistics. This is basically unprecedented and will raise concerns about US data integrity going forward,” Navy Federal Credit Union Chief Economist Heather Long wrote in a post on X.

McEntarfer, for her part, was confirmed to her role by the U.S. Senate by a vote of 86-8. Vice President JD Vance, who at the time was a senator for Ohio, voted to confirm her, meaning he thought she was competent enough for the role.

Economists decried Trump's decision—and warned of the negative consequences this could have on the economy.

"I've worked closely with Erika. I know of no economist who is more data-focused & devoted to truth in statistics. She never shied from speaking truth to power when the data were disappointing. Nothing would be worse for US credibility than political meddling in our economic data," Ernie Tedeschi, director of economics at the Yale Budget Lab, wrote in a post on X.

“You can cook up whatever numbers you want. If people don’t trust them, it won’t do you any good,” Martha Gimbel, executive director of the Yale Budget Lab, added in a post on X. “And the labor market—something people experience every day—is not a thing where it’s going to work to cook the books because people will know if they can find a job or not.”

Other economists brought up a situation in Argentina, when the Argentine government faked inflation data for nine years to make it look like the country wasn’t experiencing an inflation crisis. Faking the data, however, did not solve the country’s inflation problems. 

"This is awful. Reliable economic data is a key strength of the US economy. When Argentina and Greece faked economic data it contributed to major crises," Harvard economics professor Jason Furman wrote in a post on X. "I don't think Trump will be able to fake the data given the procedures. But there is now a risk plus an awful appearance."

Democrats also lambasted the move.

“This is how dictators behave,” Rep. Yvette Clark (D-NY) wrote in a post on X. “Do not believe a word Donald Trump or his administration have to say on the state of the economy. They’ve given up every chance at our trust—and they clearly think they don’t need it.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer mocked Trump for the firing, posting an image of Trump with the text: “BREAKING: I did some research into Trump’s Deep State and found this photo of the real government employee responsible for the job loss numbers. Trump must fire him immediately.”