'Bunch of clowns': Trump official ripped for saying jobs revision is 'hard evidence' of rigging

03 August

Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, Image via Screengrab / NBC.

Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, said Sunday revisions to job numbers constitute "hard evidence" of rigging.

During an appearance on MSNBC's "Meet the Press," Hassett was asked by host Kristen Welker if the administration has any evidence that the jobs numbers were rigged.

"The evidence is that there have been a bunch of revisions," he said.

When Welker asked him for hard evidence, Hassett responded: "The revisions are hard evidence."

On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics unveiled its monthly employment report, showing much weaker job growth in July than analysts had forecast. It also included large downward revisions to the May and June numbers, eliminating roughly 258,000 jobs from the previously reported totals.

That same afternoon, the president seized on the findings as evidence of foul play. He wrote a post on his Truth Social platform describing the figures as “rigged” and asserting that he had ordered the firing of BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, a Joe Biden appointee.

“We need accurate Jobs Numbers. I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY. She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate,” Trump wrote.

In a follow‑up post, he further charged: “In my opinion, today’s Jobs Numbers were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.”

Meanwhile Hassett's Sunday remarks were criticized on social media, with many noting that revisions are a standard and expected part of economic data reporting processes.

Political analyst Ahmed Baba wrote: "No, the revisions are not hard evidence. Revisions in jobs numbers have occurred since the BLS began publishing monthly employment data in 1915."

"That’s like saying your weigh-in after a weekend of Vegas buffets is 'hard evidence' that your scale is broken," wrote a user.

"We have a bunch of clowns running our government right now. Facts don’t care about your feelings. Revisions are 1000% normal and expected," wrote a user.

Watch the interview below or at this link.

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