The White House is trying to present bleak economic indicators in a positive light, although the U.S. economy lost 23,000 jobs in July, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Although the unemployment rate slightly decreased to 4.1%, it is still concerning: the “improvement” in the indicator was a result of a decline in the labor force participation rate, not an increase in employment. The loss of jobs is particularly notable as it has happened for the sixth time since Donald Trump returned to the White House. During the presidencies of Joe Biden and the second term of Barack Obama, the economy never lost jobs.
Over the 19 months of Trump’s second term, the U.S. economy created 542,000 jobs, significantly fewer compared to nearly 2.7 million jobs created in the previous 19 months. Excluding the pandemic year of 2020, the first year of Trump’s second term was the worst for job creation since the Great Recession, and this year could become the second worst.
White House strategy regarding economic data
The White House has three main options: (a) try to justify itself, hoping for public trust; (b) ask Americans for patience, promising that the situation will improve over time; or (c) present an absurd alternative reality and hope that it works. Trump’s team seems to prefer the latter approach.
On Friday, shortly after the release of employment data, Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council and the White House’s chief economist, told Fox News that if we exclude the sectors of the economy where jobs were lost, then “the figure was actually around 100,000“. Two days later, Hassett boldly stated on CNN’s “State of the Union” with Jake Tapper: “Essentially, if you look at the economy as a whole, things are going very, very well.”
If reality still matters, the U.S. economy is now showing weak and bleak growth, the labor market remains sluggish, and wages are not keeping up with inflation. All available public opinion polls show that the vast majority of Americans are deeply dissatisfied with the state of the economy. However, the White House still insists that it sees a “boom,” essentially telling Americans: “Don’t believe your wallets or the Trump administration’s data. In reality, everything is great.”
Jake Tapper reminded Hassett that in the last year and a half of Biden’s presidency, the economy added over 2 million jobs, nearly four times the total figure for Trump’s second term, and asked: “Are you really claiming that your figures are better than these?” The White House economist replied: “Well, I disagree with your figure. We’ll have to discuss this via email, but I just looked at the latest data. Job creation under President Trump since January 20 is about 880,000 jobs.” As it turned out, the figure of 880,000 is simply made up, according to the Trump administration’s own data, and this cannot be fixed via email.
It is worth emphasizing that Hassett was not caught off guard. He was invited to CNN, knew exactly what questions Tapper would ask him, and had enough time to prepare the best arguments to defend the economy of the Trump era. Obviously, he could not come up with anything convincing.
As for Hassett’s boss, the president stated last week to Fox News that Americans “have the best economy, perhaps in world history.” A few days later, the Republican spoke with Jake Sherman of Punchbowl News and added: “Many people say that I am one of the greatest presidents in history… You know, when I see polls about the economy, my rating should be 150%, not 100%, because we have the best — this is the golden age of America.” Trump seems to understand that Americans are dissatisfied with the current economic situation but still tries to convince them that their disappointments, anxieties, and economic hardships do not correspond to reality.
Source: MS Now
