President Donald Trump and one of his top economic advisors stoked baseless conspiracies about federal jobs data Monday, suggesting without evidence that Friday’s weaker-than-expected jobs report had been “rigged” by federal workers bent on sabotaging the president.
“All over the US government, there have been people who have been resisting Trump everywhere they can,” National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said Monday on CNBC.
Trump, meanwhile, claimed on social media that the report, which painted a dour picture of the economy, was “RIGGED” and the previous months’ revisions had been “CONCOCTED in order to make a great Republican Success look less stellar!!!”
The only way to protect the integrity of economic data, said Hassett, is to replace the economists and statisticians who lead the agencies that collect data.
“To make sure that the data are as transparent and as reliable as possible, we’re going to get highly qualified people in there that have a fresh start and a fresh set of eyes on the problem,” said Hassett.
