Drudge Retort: The Other Side of the News
Monday, August 04, 2025

When President Trump didn't like the weak jobs numbers that were released on Friday, he fired the person responsible for producing them. It was a move with few precedents in the century-long history of economic statistics in the United States. And for good reason: When political leaders meddle in government data, it rarely ends well.

More

Comments

Admin's note: Participants in this discussion must follow the site's moderation policy. Profanity will be filtered. Abusive conduct is not allowed.

More: There is the case of Greece, where the government faked deficit numbers for years, contributing to a debilitating debt crisis that required multiple rounds of bailouts. The country then criminally prosecuted the head of the statistical agency when he insisted on reporting the true figures, further eroding the country's international standing.

There is the case of China, where earlier this century the local authorities manipulated data to hit growth targets mandated by Beijing, forcing analysts and policymakers to turn to alternative measures to gauge the state of the country's economy.

Perhaps most famously, there is the case of Argentina, which in the 2000s and 2010s systematically understated inflation figures to such a degree that the international community eventually stopped relying on the government's data. That loss of faith drove up the country's borrowing costs, worsening a debt crisis that ultimately led to it defaulting on its international obligations.

It is too soon to know whether the United States is on a similar path. But economists and other experts said that Mr. Trump's decision on Friday to fire Erika McEntarfer, the Senate-confirmed head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, was a troubling step in that direction.

Janet L. Yellen, the former Treasury secretary and chair of the Federal Reserve, said the firing was not what is expected from the most advanced economy in the world.

"This is the kind of thing you would only expect to see in a banana republic," Ms. Yellen said.

#1 | Posted by qcp at 2025-08-04 10:43 AM | Reply

"This is the kind of thing you would only expect to see in a banana republic," Ms. Yellen said.

#1 | Posted by qcp

That's because we're becoming a banana republic.

How many times do we need to see stuff that "you would only expect to see in a banana republic" before these people start calling it as it actually is - we have become a banana republic.

#2 | Posted by jpw at 2025-08-04 10:49 AM | Reply

The only thing "fake" is Trump

#3 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2025-08-04 10:55 AM | Reply

I'm a day away from exiting the market for a bit.

Anybody else considering that?

#4 | Posted by Wardog at 2025-08-04 12:01 PM | Reply

That's because we're becoming a banana republic.

It all started with the FISA warrant/wiretap Obama put on Trump at the bequest of Hillary. I bet there were some Lumpers here claiming they were legit, no one would forge a warrant application.

LOL idiots.

Since then both sides have been sliding to a bad outcome.

#5 | Posted by oneironaut at 2025-08-04 12:10 PM | Reply

I did it last October, fearing a Black Swan event.

All I kept was my Asia Fund, and Gold.

After the election, my fear changed to mismanagement. I'm still convinced they'll weaken the dollar, like they did the first year of Trump 1.0. I've gotten back in a little, all in foreign-denominated investments.

I keep a running total of how much that decision has saved me. At this point, it's more than a new Subaru, and less than my first house.

#6 | Posted by Danforth at 2025-08-04 12:13 PM | Reply

#5 look at this f*^%ing terard pushing a transparently false narrative ginned up by the Trump administration.

F*^% off, dips*^%.

#7 | Posted by jpw at 2025-08-04 12:21 PM | Reply

"When political leaders meddle in government data, it rarely ends well."

It will be different this time!
--Republicans

It's Biden's Fault(TM) that it's not different time time!
--Republicans

#8 | Posted by snoofy at 2025-08-04 12:26 PM | Reply

" It all started with the FISA warrant/wiretap Obama put on Trump"

What a riot.

It started when members of Team Trump kept meeting with surveilled Russians, while lying to the American people, claiming ZERO Russian contacts.

Only turncoats believe recording should've STOPPED at that moment.

#9 | Posted by Danforth at 2025-08-04 12:43 PM | Reply

The following HTML tags are allowed in comments: a href, b, i, p, br, ul, ol, li and blockquote. Others will be stripped out. Participants in this discussion must follow the site's moderation policy. Profanity will be filtered. Abusive conduct is not allowed.

Anyone can join this site and make comments. To post this comment, you must sign it with your Drudge Retort username. If you can't remember your username or password, use the lost password form to request it.
Username:
Password:

Home | Breaking News | Comments | User Blogs | Stats | Back Page | RSS Feed | RSS Spec | DMCA Compliance | Privacy

Drudge Retort