Top Trump Adviser Fails To Offer Evidence That Jobs Reports Were ‘Rigged’
HuffPost
He claimed "patterns" in revisions to labor data, but balked when asked to provide specific proof.
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.
“The revisions are hard evidence,” National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett argued during a Sunday appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” citing what he claimed were “patterns” in the changes that have been made to jobs data in recent years.
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 and shocking firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) 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.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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