'You own it': White House slammed for blaming dismal economic data on everything but Trump

The White House's reaction to a staggering downward revision in U.S. jobs data has drawn backlash, with critics calling it deflection and politicization of essential economic statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said Tuesday the U.S. created 911,000 fewer jobs between April 2024 and March 2025 than previously estimated — the largest revision on record. This unexpected adjustment has intensified scrutiny of both the data itself and the political narrative surrounding it, given a recent move by the president.

Last month, President Donald Trump abruptly fired BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, who had been confirmed in 2024, after a dismal jobs report and steep downward revisions to May and June figures.

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Trump accused the BLS of having “rigged" the data, though economists underscored that such revisions are routine as more complete information arrives, raising concerns about politicization of economic reporting.

Meanwhile, the White House seized on Tuesday's revised data to lash out at multiple targets. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed it proved “that President Trump was right: Biden’s economy was a disaster and the BLS is broken”, calling for new leadership at the statistical agency.

The administration also revived calls for the Federal Reserve, led by Jerome Powell, to cut interest rates, branding him “Too Late” for not acting sooner to shore up the economy.

Reacting to the White House's statement, journalist Jin Roberts wrote on the social platform X: "You own it, dude."

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Podcaster Jim Stewartson wrote: "Trump gets a bad jobs report. Fires the BLS commissioner. BLS immediately revises Biden’s last year down by 911,000 jobs. lol."

Writer Andy Ostroy said in a post on X: "I’m no conspiracy theorist, but if I was… Trump fires the BLS commissioner last month after he didn’t like the job numbers…then put in his own commissioner…and now Biden‘s final year numbers get the largest downward revision in history?"

Reporter Roger Sollenberger wrote: "Missing context: This annual revision comes after Trump’s political firing of the head of BLS."