(Image courtesy of Google Gemini)
By S. Jayasankaran
The president of today is just the postage stamp of tomorrow. – Words to live by, considering the incumbent.
What does a leader do when confronted by suggestions that his policies are bad?
If he’s Donald Trump, he fires the bearer of sad news and declares victory.
If it worked before on reality TV, why not in the White House?
Last Friday, US President Donald Trump sacked the head of an important economic institution hours after it released weaker-than-expected jobs data that suggested his tariff policy was hurting the US.
He claimed Erika McEntarfer, head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), had “RIGGED” jobs figures “to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.”
Actually, the capitals-crazed president didn’t need Erika, or anyone else to make him look bad. He could, and often did, do that by himself.
America’s Chieftain is convinced that tariffs are the US’ way forward. The markets don’t agree, and the BLS’ figures didn’t help.
Indeed, Friday’s figures released by BLS showed that employers in the US added only 73,000 jobs in July, far below forecasts of at least 109,000.
To add insult to injury, the agency revised down employment growth in May and June, reporting 250,000 fewer jobs than previously thought. It was the largest downward revision in employment in 45 years.
In fairness, he isn’t the first president to be data-rebuked. During Joe Biden’s presidency, statistics for 12 months over 2023-4 were retroactively revised downward by 818,000 jobs.
Even so, the BLS’ latest revisions weren’t unexpected: analysts said it was consistent with other data showing a slowdown.
If there was one thing America’s Bossman hated more than illegal immigrants, it was criticism. And any talk of a slowing economy under HIS watch was not to be tolerated.
It was back to the old playbook: Deny, Obfuscate, Contradict and Punish. That’s exactly what the Commander-in-Chief did.
He denied and contradicted. “The Economy is BOOMING under TRUMP”, he posted on his Truth Social network.
Interestingly, he referred to himself in the third person, a trait often associated with narcissism.
The US Head Honcho had better get used to bad news because the majority of economists are now united in decrying his “Brilliant” tariffs.
Even The Economist, a right-wing publication, described his tariff war as “mindless” and “bound to cause havoc.”
Some people see more sinister overtones in his latest outburst. This from former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers: “Firing the head of a key government agency because you don’t like the numbers they report is what happens in authoritarian countries.”
Mr Summers was alluding to Project 2025, a political initiative to reshape the US federal government and consolidate executive policy in favour of right-wing policies.
The president has consistently denied any attachment to Project 2025, but analysts note that his term seems devoted to entrenching the executive’s grip on the state.
Next in his cross-hairs could be Jerome Powell, the hapless chairman of the Federal Reserve. The central bank continues to leave interest rates unchanged, much to Donny’s chagrin.
The president is demanding a cut, but the Fed is holding fire until it sees the full impact of tariffs on the US economy.
The trouble is, Donald “I-know-more-about-interest-rates-than-anyone” Trump knows he cannot lose.
That’s just not in the script.
(The views expressed here are entirely those of the writer)
WE