Economist Paul Krugman sees a dangerous sidelining of inconvenient facts by President Donald Trump, with growing efforts to replace official statistics with narratives that align with political goals. <\/p>\n
From Jobs To Crime And Public Health<\/p>\n
In his newsletter on Thursday, Krugman linked two recent developments linked to the Trump administration that point to this.<\/p>\n
The First is the firing<\/a> of the Bureau of Labor Statistics chief, Erica McEntarfar, following a report showing slow job growth late last month, and now the deployment of the National Guard in Washington, D.C., despite falling crime rates. \u201cWhat these two stories have in common is this: MAGA’s feelings don’t care about your facts,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n See Also: Trump\u2019s BLS Pick Calls For Suspension Of Monthly Jobs Report: Data \u2018Needs To Be Fixed Immediately\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Krugman criticized EJ Antoni, Trump\u2019s pick to lead<\/a> the BLS, noting several of Antoni\u2019s unconventional views. \u201cHe has actually said that we should define a recession not on the basis of things like employment data or GDP but by how people \u2018feel.’\u201d<\/p>\n On crime, Krugman says that while D.C.\u2019s crime rate remains high relative to other major cities, it is \u201cfalling rapidly.\u201d He also finds the assertion that the NYPD is rigging crime data to make Liberal mayors look good, as \u201csimply hilarious.\u201d<\/p>\n Looking ahead, Krugman warned that data suppression could extend beyond jobs and crime. With Trump\u2019s tariffs already beginning to show up in inflation numbers, he says, \u201cif a Trumpified BLS can stop releasing employment data, surely it can stop releasing price data too.\u201d<\/p>\n He also warns that the \u201cnext frontier in feelings-over-facts will involve public health,\u201d as Americans begin to realize how low their life expectancy is relative to other rich countries.<\/p>\n Trump Hits Back At Krugman: \u201cHe Has Been Wrong For Years\u201d <\/p>\n Last week, in another newsletter, Krugman slammed Trump<\/a> for calling the jobs report rigged, saying that \u201cevery accusation is a confession.\u201d<\/p>\n Krugman referred to Trump\u2019s immediate dismissal of the BLS data and the subsequent firing of the BLS chief, a predictable pattern of a \u201cparanoid style.\u201d<\/p>\n