One of Trump’s top economic advisers wasn’t able to point to much when asked for evidence to support the president’s allegation that a former labor official had rigged revisions to job numbers.
When asked what specific proof he had that these revisions were politically motivated or targeted toward Trump, Hassett deflected.
Hassett’s remarks follow Trump’s abrupt firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer on Friday, after he accused her of manipulating job numbers for political reasons. His alarming decision comes after a July jobs report was weaker than expected and after the BLS revised the gains from the two prior months to be significantly lower as well.
White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers alleged BLS data was “historically inaccurate” when asked for comment, but also did not provide specifics.
Democrats have warned that Trump’s actions reek of authoritarianism and are illustrative of his penchant for “shooting the messenger” when information that’s presented is less than flattering toward him.
Former BLS Commissioner and Trump appointee Bill Beach has pushed back strongly against the President’s claims, noting that a dedicated team is involved in compiling these reports.
“These numbers are constructed by hundreds of people. They’re finalized by about 40 people,” Beach told Politico on Friday. “These 40 people are very professional people who have served under Republicans and Democrats.”
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He stressed on Sunday that McEntarfer had no means of unilaterally messing with the data.
“There’s no way for that to happen,” Beach said in a CNN interview. “The commissioner doesn’t do anything to collect the numbers. The commissioner doesn’t see the numbers … until Wednesday before they’re published. By the time the commissioner sees the numbers, they’re all prepared.”
