After Vanse and the Department of Labor vigorously promoted the non-farm data, they were "slapped in the face" by Trump a few hours later
U.S. Vice President Vance and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer initially attempted to interpret the weak employment data from July positively. Vance pointed out that the number of domestic workers had increased, while the employment rate of foreign workers had declined. The Labor Secretary stated that employment growth was still on a positive track. Unfortunately, Trump was not appreciative and "slapped back" at their rhetoric a few hours later, claiming that the data was politically manipulated and firing the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Erika McEntarfer
A weak U.S. employment report triggered open conflicts within the Trump administration in just a few hours.
On August 1st, according to Wall Street Insight, the U.S. added only 73,000 non-farm jobs in July, far below expectations, and the data for the previous two months was significantly revised down by 258,000. In the face of this weak data, U.S. Vice President Vance and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer initially attempted to interpret the data positively.
Vance shared a chart on social media showing an increase in the number of domestic workers and a decrease in the employment rate of foreign workers, pointing out that this is a result of the Trump administration's immigration policy.
Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, in an interview, tried to stabilize market sentiment. She acknowledged that the data revision was "unexpected," but emphasized that since Trump returned to the White House, job growth remains on a "positive track." She pointed out:
Since Trump took office, nearly 500,000 new jobs have been created, especially in healthcare and construction.
Chavez-DeRemer also added:
I know the revised data is a hot topic, but 62% of it occurred in the education and seasonal labor sectors. So, we sometimes see adjustments in the data.
Unfortunately, Trump did not appreciate this, and a few hours later, he "slapped back" at their arguments.
Wall Street Insight previously mentioned that Trump claimed the data was politically manipulated and fired the director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Erika McEntarfer. Later that day, Trump further stated that he dismissed the labor statistics director because he "did not trust those non-farm data."
Labor Secretary Chavez-DeRemer quickly followed up, announcing on social media platform X that she appointed Deputy Director William Wiatrowski as the acting head of the agency.
More notably was her change in attitude. Chavez-DeRemer wrote in her post:
I completely agree with the President's view that our employment data must be fair and accurate and must not be manipulated for political purposes.
This statement directly echoed Trump's unfounded accusations and sharply contrasted with her remarks just a few hours earlier in a television interview
