Bulwark Takes: Trump’s Outrageous Lies About Jobs Numbers Exposed
Host: Will Saletan
Release Date: August 3, 2025
In this compelling episode of Bulwark Takes, host Will Saletan delves deep into former President Donald Trump's persistent and unfounded claims surrounding the United States' job numbers. Through meticulous analysis of recent events and historical context, Saletan exposes the inconsistencies and manipulations propagated by Trump to undermine governmental institutions and sway public opinion.
1. The Authoritarian Warning
[00:00] Will Saletan:
Saletan opens the discussion by drawing parallels between recent governmental actions and authoritarian regimes. He states, “if you are a citizen or resident of the United States, you are living in an authoritarian country,” highlighting the suppression of information and the firing of officials who report inconvenient truths. This sets the tone for the episode's exploration of Trump's tactics to distort economic data.
2. Trump's Attack on the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Saletan outlines the immediate trigger for Trump’s latest assault on the Bureau of Labor Statistics. When the BLS reported a downward revision in job numbers—indicating fewer jobs were created than initially reported—Trump reacted vehemently. He took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to accuse Dr. Erica McIntarfer, the BLS Commissioner and a Biden appointee, of fabricating job data to aid Kamala Harris’s 2024 presidential campaign.
Key Claims by Trump:
- Fabrication of Job Numbers: “The jobs numbers are being produced by a Biden appointee, Dr. Erica McIntarfer, who faked them to boost Kamala Harris's chances of victory.”
- Immediate Consequences: “I have directed my team to fire this Biden political appointee immediately.”
Saletan underscores the irony in Trump's accusations, noting that while he previously decried BLS revisions as manipulative, he now undermines the integrity of the same agency when it presents data unfavorable to him.
3. Unraveling the 2024 Job Numbers Revision
To assess Trump's credibility, Saletan examines the timing and context of the BLS's 2024 job numbers revision. He references the press release dated August 21, 2024, which was two and a half months before the November election, coinciding with the Democratic National Convention. This timing was particularly detrimental to Harris's campaign, providing Trump with a potent narrative against the administration.
Saletan's Analysis:
- Trump's Narrative: Accused the BLS of delaying the revision until after the election to harm Republican prospects.
- Actual Timing: The revision occurred on August 21, 2024, before the election, contradicting Trump's claims that it happened on November 15, 2024.
Saletan emphasizes that Trump's misrepresentation of the timeline is a fabrication intended to perpetuate distrust in the BLS and bolster his anti-administration rhetoric.
4. Consistent Misinformation Strategy
Saletan points out Trump's pattern of misinformation regarding job numbers:
- 2020 Election Claims: Trump previously alleged that job numbers were "rigged" against him during the 2020 election.
- 2024 Claims: Similar accusations were made about job numbers being advantageous to Kamala Harris, only to later invert his stance when new data emerged.
Saletan's Observation:
“Trump doesn't have a principled objection to revising the job numbers. His only rule is the revised numbers are real when they're about Democrats and they're fake when they're about him.”
This cyclical pattern of denial and inversion underscores Trump's strategy to maintain an unfaltering base by dismissing inconvenient truths while asserting unwavering control over public narratives.
5. The Role of Apparatchiks: Kevin Hassett's Defense
Central to Saletan’s critique is the concept of apparatchiks—loyal bureaucrats who defend authoritarian leaders’ actions unquestioningly. Kevin Hassett, the Director of the White House National Economic Council and a potential candidate to replace Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve Chairman, exemplifies this phenomenon.
Hassett's Defense in Interviews:
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Meet the Press ([08:01] Will Saletan): Kristen Welker: “Does the administration have any evidence that it was rigged? As the President said, will you be presenting that to the American public?”
Kevin Hassett: “The revisions are hard evidence. For example, there was an 818,000 revision making the Joe Biden job record a lot worse… There have been a bunch of patterns that could make people wonder if there's a partisan pattern in the data.”
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Fox News Sunday ([09:08] Will Saletan): Shannon Bream: Prompted Hassett to respond to Trump’s statement about phony job numbers.
Kevin Hassett: “When the data are unreliable… there are going to be people that wonder if there's a partisan pattern in the data. … It showed that the Joe Biden jobs record was a lot worse than people thought…”
Saletan criticizes Hassett for knowingly ignoring the true detrimental timing of the 2024 revision, choosing instead to fabricate a narrative that implicates partisan bias unrelated to the actual events.
Saletan's Critique:
- Dishonesty: Hassett is aware that the job number revision in August was timed to disadvantage Harris but falsely attributes it to post-campaign dynamics.
- Supporting Authoritarianism: By defending Trump’s unfounded claims without evidence, Hassett perpetuates misinformation and undermines institutional integrity.
6. Implications for Democratic Institutions and Governance
Saletan warns of the broader dangers posed by figures like Hassett within the government. By allowing apparatchiks to thrive, the administration risks eroding public trust in essential institutions like the BLS and the Federal Reserve. This manipulation of data and public perception is emblematic of authoritarian tendencies that threaten democratic norms and the integrity of governmental bodies.
7. Conclusion: The Battle Against Authoritarianism
In wrapping up the episode, Saletan underscores the importance of holding individuals like Kevin Hassett accountable to preserve the sanctity of governmental institutions. He emphasizes that combating authoritarianism involves not only preventing the rise of autocratic leaders but also ensuring that loyalist bureaucrats do not perpetuate lies and undermine democratic processes.
Final Takeaway:
“To ensure the resilience of democracy, it's crucial to remove apparatchiks who defend lies and to protect the independence and credibility of our governmental institutions.”
Notable Quotes:
- Will Saletan [00:00]: "If you are a citizen or resident of the United States, you are living in an authoritarian country."
- Donald Trump [04:23]: "The Harris Biden administration has been caught fraudulently manipulating job statistics to hide the true extent of the economic ruin that they've inflicted on America."
- Kevin Hassett [08:01]: "There have been a bunch of patterns that could make people wonder if there's a partisan pattern in the data."
- Kevin Hassett [09:15]: "When the data are unreliable... there are going to be people that wonder if there's a partisan pattern in the data."
This episode of Bulwark Takes serves as a crucial exposé on the manipulative tactics employed by Trump and his loyalists to distort economic realities and erode trust in key governmental institutions. Saletan’s thorough analysis provides listeners with a clear understanding of the mechanisms of misinformation and the importance of safeguarding democratic integrity against authoritarian influences.