Far Worse Than The Job Numbers . . .

. . . is how Trump reacted to them.

Before he knew what Trump would say, Nobel laureate Paul Krugman concluded, sardonically:

One thing is clear: The previously reported good numbers were proof of Trump’s brilliance. Now that they’ve been revised away, the bad numbers are clearly Biden’s fault, or maybe Jerome Powell’s, or Barack Obama’s.

Or maybe Hunter’s laptop.

But no, Trump did not blame the bad numbers on someone else — he simply denied that they were real.  They were rigged against him, he said, just like the 2020 election or E. Jean Carroll’s phony rape allegation.* 

So he announced he would fire the 20-year veteran economist who oversaw them.

Which is far worse than some bad job numbers, because it tells the global investment community they can no longer trust us.

One more reason that U.S. stocks, as a group, may have a lot further to fall.

Robert Reich:

Trump destroys our source of information about jobs. This is beyond irresponsible.

I spent much of the 1990s as Secretary of Labor. One unit of the Labor Department is the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

I was instructed by my predecessors as well as by the White House that one of my cardinal responsibilities was to guard the independence of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Otherwise, this crown jewel of knowledge about jobs and the economy would be compromised. If politicized, it would no longer be trusted as a source of information.

So what does Trump do? With one fell swoop on Friday he essentially destroyed the credibility of the BLS.

It’s what dictators do.  They issue decrees (he calls them “executive orders”); they cow the opposition.

If you report bad news, they fire you.  (But being a total sycophant, as noted yesterday, “can be a fantastic career move.”)

Trump has already managed to weaken the dollar dramatically, making everything we import more expensive — even before adding on the tariffs that will hit consumers shortly.

And now he is destroying the credibility of our numbers.

Secretary Reich’s short letter is worth reading and — sharing — in full.

BONUS

Thanks to Glenn Sonnenberg for this wonderful 2006 quote from George W. Bush:

America needs to conduct this debate on immigration in a reasoned and respectful tone. Feelings run deep on this issue and as we work it out, all of us need to keep some things in mind. We cannot build a unified country by inciting people to anger, or playing on anyone’s fears, or exploiting the issue of immigration for political gain. We must always remember that real lives will be affected by our debates and decisions, and that every human being has dignity and value no matter what their citizenship papers say.

*If you listen at 1.3X speed, I think you’ll really enjoy Not My Type: One Woman vs. a President.  Sure, almost everyone knows he raped and defamed her.  But when you listen to the full account, as contrasted with his categorical denials, you will see at the most granular and definitive level what a liar he is.