Economist Paul Krugman sees a dangerous sidelining of inconvenient facts by President Donald Trump, with growing efforts to replace official statistics with narratives that align with political goals.
From Jobs To Crime And Public Health
In his newsletter on Thursday, Krugman linked two recent developments linked to the Trump administration that point to this.
The First is the firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics chief, Erica McEntarfar, following a report showing slow job growth late last month, and now the deployment of the National Guard in Washington, D.C., despite falling crime rates. “What these two stories have in common is this: MAGA's feelings don't care about your facts,” he says.
See Also: Trump’s BLS Pick Calls For Suspension Of Monthly Jobs Report: Data ‘Needs To Be Fixed Immediately’
Krugman criticized EJ Antoni, Trump’s pick to lead the BLS, noting several of Antoni’s unconventional views. “He has actually said that we should define a recession not on the basis of things like employment data or GDP but by how people ‘feel.'”
On crime, Krugman says that while D.C.’s crime rate remains high relative to other major cities, it is “falling rapidly.” He also finds the assertion that the NYPD is rigging crime data to make Liberal mayors look good, as “simply hilarious.”
Looking ahead, Krugman warned that data suppression could extend beyond jobs and crime. With Trump’s tariffs already beginning to show up in inflation numbers, he says, “if a Trumpified BLS can stop releasing employment data, surely it can stop releasing price data too.”
He also warns that the “next frontier in feelings-over-facts will involve public health,” as Americans begin to realize how low their life expectancy is relative to other rich countries.
Trump Hits Back At Krugman: “He Has Been Wrong For Years”
Last week, in another newsletter, Krugman slammed Trump for calling the jobs report rigged, saying that “every accusation is a confession.”
Krugman referred to Trump’s immediate dismissal of the BLS data and the subsequent firing of the BLS chief, a predictable pattern of a “paranoid style.”
Trump hit back in a post on Truth Social, calling Krugman’s “doom and gloom” economic predictions a personal vendetta, while adding that “he has been wrong for years.
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