But after a government report suggested the labor market is cooling off in his second term, Trump appears to be gearing up to muzzle or manipulate the Bureau of Labor Statistics, firing its respected leader and announcing plans to replace her with a partisan nominee who suggested getting rid of monthly jobs reports<\/a> entirely. And that\u2019s after the unemployment rate had only gone up a tenth of a percentage point.<\/p>\n At the same time, Trump is deploying National Guard troops to patrol the streets of the capital, despite figures that Trump\u2019s own Department of Justice has touted<\/a> showing a drop in crime there. He\u2019s pressured Goldman Sachs to replace its chief economist <\/a>after it warned that American consumers will pay for a large share of Trump\u2019s tariffs, and he\u2019s shut down <\/a>government data collection that helps inform policymakers, including at the Environmental Protection Agency<\/a> and NASA<\/a>.<\/p>\n Experts say Trump\u2019s moves smack of authoritarianism seen in other countries.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s part of what scholars would call the authoritarian playbook \u2013 undermining factual information and falsifying things that you know to be true,\u201d Natalie Koch, a Syracuse University professor who researches authoritarianism, told HuffPost. <\/p>\n Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/p>\n Koch has studied personality cults<\/a> and said that when Trump does something like baselessly claiming the jobs numbers are \u201crigged,\u201d the statement itself is a flex. <\/p>\n \u201cThese kinds of really, really brazen lies … serve more of that sort of purpose of demonstrating power and the ability to just bend people,\u201d Koch said. <\/p>\n Monthly jobs numbers are compiled from surveys of thousands of businesses and government agencies. The method isn\u2019t perfect and doesn\u2019t include every business, which would be costly and impractical. The reports are often revised upward or downward later, when more information becomes available. Trump\u2019s allies have pointed to declining survey response rates as a reason for the supposed unreliability of the jobs numbers, but have shown no willingness to actually address the problem, which has broadly confounded researchers and would likely cost money to solve. <\/p>\n \u201cYou would have to certainly pay more for the program in the short run, because you have to do all the research behind redesigning the system. And do the statistical agencies want to do this? Yes, but there has been no funding for additional programs at the BLS for 15 years,\u201d Erica Groshen, who served as BLS commissioner from 2013 to 2017, said in an interview.<\/p>\n Trump is upset that the previous two months of job growth during his presidency were revised downward in the jobs report for July. He nominated Heritage Foundation economist E.J. Antoni, a BLS critic, to lead the agency going forward, a selection that has alarmed both conservative and liberal economic experts. <\/p>\n Democrats are warning that Antoni\u2019s confirmation could even lead the government to fly blind straight into a recession. <\/p>\n \u201cE.J. Antoni is an unqualified right-wing extremist who won\u2019t think twice about manipulating BLS data and degrading the credibility of the agency to make Trump happy\u2014and has already suggested shelving important data entirely,\u201d Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said in a statement. \u201cPutting him in charge of the BLS is a dangerous move that puts nonpartisan economic data\u2014and by extension, our entire economy\u2014plainly at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear if Antoni will have enough Republican support in the Senate to be confirmed as BLS chair. But Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who leads the Senate committee with jurisdiction over his nomination, said Tuesday he agreed with Trump that the agency needs to produce \u201cunbiased\u201d economic information. <\/p>\n Trump is making similar efforts to wave off data on falling crime in Washington. Speaking with reporters at the Kennedy Center on Wednesday, Trump urged the city to release \u201creal\u201d statistics on violent crime in the district. The city has reported<\/a> that violent crime fell 35% last year and 24% so far this year. The D.C. police union has accused the city\u2019s police department of misclassifying crimes to create a false appearance of improvement, but the city\u2019s numbers track with similar trends in other big cities<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cThe whole thing is a rigged deal,\u201d Trump said. \u201cThey said it\u2019s the best in 20 years. No, it\u2019s the worst in 20 years.\u201d <\/p>\n White House adviser Stephen Miller went further in a post<\/a> online: \u201cCrime stats in big blue cities are fake. The real rates of crime, chaos & dysfunction are orders of magnitude higher,\u201d he wrote. \u201cEveryone who lives in these areas knows this. They program their entire lives around it.\u201d<\/p>\n The Washington Post via Getty Images<\/p>\n Crime in Washington, while still higher than in some other cities around the U.S., is at a 30-year low. It did spike badly in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, but it has since come down, as one of Trump\u2019s top MAGA enforcers acknowledged a few months ago. <\/p>\n \u201cThanks to the leadership of President Trump and the efforts of our \u2018Make D.C. Safe Again\u2019 initiative, the District has seen a significant decline in violent crime,\u201d former interim U.S. Attorney Ed Martin wrote in an April press release<\/a> that\u2019s still live on the DOJ\u2019s website. \u201cWe are proving that strong enforcement and smart policies can make our communities safer.\u201d<\/p>\n Last week, Trump announced he\u2019d ordered the Commerce Department to conduct a new census, one excluding undocumented immigrants. It\u2019s an incredibly important survey for understanding the country\u2019s demographics and apportioning its political representation. <\/p>\n \u201cPeople who are in our Country illegally WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS,\u201d the president wrote on social media. <\/p>\n Trump\u2019s directive is contrary to the Constitution, which calls for a census every 10 years \u2014 the next one\u2019s supposed to be in 2030 \u2014 and says the government should count everybody. <\/p>\n Trump hopes a quick and partial count could help his party in next year\u2019s midterm elections. If Democrats retake the House, an outcome many analysts consider likely, then the administration will have to deal with subpoenas, and Trump could face impeachment. <\/p>\n 20 Years OfFreeJournalism<\/p>\n Your Support Fuels Our Mission<\/p>\n Your Support Fuels Our Mission<\/p>\n For two decades, HuffPost has been fearless, unflinching, and relentless in pursuit of the truth. Support our mission to keep us around for the next 20 \u2014 we can’t do this without you.<\/p>\n We remain committed to providing you with the unflinching, fact-based journalism everyone deserves.<\/p>\n Thank you again for your support along the way. We\u2019re truly grateful for readers like you! Your initial support helped get us here and bolstered our newsroom, which kept us strong during uncertain times. Now as we continue, we need your help more than ever. ![\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/689cef1c180000c8bd8c55de.jpeg\")
If there\u2019s one thing you can count on, it\u2019s the president hating numbers.<\/p>\n![\"Members](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/689cef83180000e6bd8c55df.jpeg\")
Members of the National Guard on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 12, 2025.<\/p>\n