Wall Street Journal Has a Question About That Firing

The right-leaning editorial page of the Wall Street Journal is not a fan of President Trump's decision to fire a Bureau of Labor Statistics official after a weak jobs report. The editors see a credibility problem going forward, and they use the example of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer's own words to illustrate the point. In the immediate wake of the report's release, she went on Bloomberg TV to put a positive spin on things. Yes, there were big revisions downward in May and June, she said, but "we've seen positive job growth."

But a few hours later, Trump declared that the numbers were fake, and Chavez-DeRemer immediately shifted gears. "I agree wholeheartedly with @POTUS that our jobs numbers must be fair, accurate, and never manipulated for political purposes," she tweeted. Which prompted the Journal editors to ask a question:

• "So were the jobs data that were 'positive' in the morning rigged by the afternoon?"

The editors reject the idea that political bias was behind the jobs report, adding that "Trump's data denial is one more reason fewer Americans will trust the government." (Read more on Trump's rationale for the move.)