Trump Says Jobs Report Was Rigged, Faces Bipartisan Criticism

President Donald Trump claimed that the latest jobs report was rigged, and fired the Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner Erika McEntarfer, sparking bipartisan criticism.

For Context: "The BLS estimates a mere 73,000 jobs were added last month, almost all in healthcare and social assistance. It also revised down gains for May and June by a combined 258,000, to a total of 33,000 new jobs, one of the biggest downward revisions in years," according to the Wall Street Journal Opinion (Lean Right bias). Trump said, "Today’s Jobs Numbers were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad."

How The Left Covered It: Voices on the left said Trump's moves were baseless and authoritarian. One CNN Opinion (Left) piece said Trump was trying to remake reality and "acting without restraint," adding that "Trump’s personal embarrassments often lead him to pursue authoritarian outcomes." Vox (Left) noted that "When BLS released similar downward revisions in August 2024, Trump complained that the Biden administration was 'caught fraudulently manipulating Job Statistics to hide the true extent of the Economic Ruin they have inflicted upon America.'”

How The Right Covered It: Opinions published in more pro-establishment outlets on the right, such as The Wall Street Journal and National Review (Right) agreed with those from the left that Trump was shooting the messenger without solid evidence that the report was 'rigged.' CNN Business (Lean Left) and the Journal explained how the BLS report works and provided explanations for why the numbers sometimes include large revisions. In contrast, a piece in the American Spectator (Right) supported Commissioner Erika McEntarfer's firing, saying, "She was a Biden appointee whose tenure at the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has been characterized by disarray."

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