US President for Life hopeful Donald Trump and lackey of the almighty Phil (says he was Rommel but wasn’t) has been pressuring the US Federal Reserve to lower interest rates since January of 2025 (Reuters). Going to the extreme of threatening Chairman Powell’s job. This is the same strategy Nixon used against then Chairman Burns, who succumbed, and kicked started an era of stagflation (NBCNews). Powell resisted Trump’s efforts to coerce him into lowering interest rates.

In the beginning of August Trump criticized, and then fired, the director of the Bureau of Labor and Statistics Erika McEntarfer. He was unhappy with the jobs report that showed hiring in May and June was lower than expected. He replaced her with William Wiatrowski.

“No one can be that wrong? We need accurate Jobs Numbers,” Trump wrote. “She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can’t be manipulated for political purposes.” PBS

Doublespeak.

Then, the largest revision in BLS history claimed hiring was overstated by 911,000 jobs (NPR).

The Fed is prone to raise interest rates when inflation is high. They are prone to lower interest rates when unemployment is high. See how that worked out?

Who can account for accuracy of these numbers at all, who can say they weren’t fabricated?

• Why Trump’s Push To Lower Mortgage Rates Could Backfire Investopedia
• Here’s what happened to financial markets after Nixon pressured the Fed NBC News
• Trump fires Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner after dismal employment report PBS
• BLS revision shows annual hiring was overstated by 911,000 jobs NPR