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Trump fires the BLS Commish: The economy is about to take off now

Chris Graham
donald trump
Donald Trump. Image: © Shutterstock AI – Shutterstock

This just in: the Trump-era economy is going to add 10 million jobs in August, and another 20 million in September.

I’m kidding, of course.

It’s going to be 20 million in August, and 50 million in September.

“The president is trying to cook the books by firing the nonpolitical career civil servant who oversees the data, because he wants to hide the truth of his failed policies from the American people,” said U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., reacting to the news that Donald Trump fired Dr. Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, on Friday, after the BLS released its jobs report for July, and it wasn’t good for the Dear Leader.


ICYMI


The BLS report showed a net gain of just 73,000 jobs in July, and also revised prior months’ totals downward by a combined 258,000.

“In my opinion, today’s Jobs Numbers were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad,” Trump fumed on social media, unable to accept the obvious – his tariffs are killing the economy.

Inflation is higher, the unemployment rate is up, real wages and GDP are down – but the problem isn’t the economics policies, it’s the people doing the math.

don beyer
Don Beyer. Photo: Facebook

“Those of us who opposed Trump’s trade wars warned from the beginning that they would raise prices for the American people, hurt relationships with our allies, and damage small businesses with self-inflicted chaos and uncertainty. Now Trump’s tariffs are causing inflation to riseeconomic growth slowed in the first half of 2025, and the job market – a primary source of strength and stability through fluctuations in the post-pandemic economy – is weakening sharply. Everything we warned would happen is in fact happening,” Congressman Don Beyer, D-Va., said in a statement on Friday.

Bobby Scott
Bobby Scott. Photo: Office of Congressman Bobby Scott

Updating our early reporting on this: 50 million new jobs in August, 100 million in September.

“The Bureau of Labor Statistics has always served as a nonpartisan, data-driven federal agency that provides key information vital to the United States economy.  President Trump’s firing of Commissioner Erika McEntarfer comes without evidence of any misconduct after BLS reported that the economy showed poor job growth for three consecutive months – a fact with which too many Americans are aware,” Congressman Bobby Scott, D-Va., said in a statement on Friday, adding that “today’s action serves as a warning to any future BLS officer that they should not dare to make the mistake of reporting accurate information.”

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Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, TikTok, BlueSky, or subscribe to his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].

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