President Donald Trump sent shockwaves through Washington by firing the Labor Department statistician after weaker-than-normal job numbers, claiming she had rigged the data. Analysts are calling the move ‘Orwellian’ and authoritarian.
When it comes to tariffs, the president says America is winning. But the reality so far proves to be very different. Just ask the average American.
And there is intense uncertainty in the U.S. and around the world. It’s still unclear how it will all end.
In other news, if Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to run for president again in 2028, he’s going to have to learn to play nice in the GOP sandbox.
These are the topics we’re covering this week on Politics and Power.
Firing the messenger
First, Trump fired Commissioner of Labor Statistics Erika McEntarfer after weaker-than-expected jobs figures.
Trump said in a social media post, “We need accurate jobs numbers. ... She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate; they can’t be manipulated for political purposes.”
The stunning move came the same day that the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a gain of just 73,000 nonfarm jobs in July, below market expectations. The president maintained McEntarfer “rigged the numbers.”
During an interview on The Morning Show, Max Stier, an attorney and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, said the numbers reported were fair and accurate, and there was no sign they had been manipulated in any way.
He agreed that Trump fired the messenger simply because he did not like the facts.
Even though Trump wants to put someone he can trust in the post, Stier believes the next set of statistics “should be fair and accurate,” because the Labor Department deals in real numbers, and there should be no manipulation.
Stier warned that there is a legitimate concern that, if you look at moves over the past half a year -- attempts to rewrite history, McEntarfer’s firing, trying to compromise the independence of the Fed -- things have taken an Orwellian and even authoritarian turn.
Tariff truths
The United States is starting to feel the effects of Trump’s tariffs.
Inflation is picking up. Consumer inflation is rising. And a separate inflation gauge, employed by the Fed, shows prices have increased over the past month. And the labor market shows signs of cooling.
All of this is in direct contrast to what Trump says. And the American public is starting to take notice.
Six out of 10 Americans fault the president for financial troubles, and 8 out of 10 worry about the tariffs’ impacts, according to a new poll conducted by Morning Consult for the Century Foundation.
More than 2,000 Americans were asked how they were managing the high cost of living.
Sixty-three per cent said Trump has had a negative impact on grocery prices, and 61% said he has had a negative impact on the cost of living.
Nearly half, 49%, said the Trump administration has had a negative impact on their finances. Nearly 8 out of 10 Americans, including 70% of Republicans, fear that Trump’s tariffs will increase the price of everyday goods.
Julie Margetta Morgan, president of the Century Foundation, said in an interview with The Guardian that “Americans are left on their own to face high prices and low earnings, are building their own safety nets from a web of financial products, credit cards, buy now, pay later loans, payday loans and student debt, and companies have been given the green light to manipulate these products to boost their own profits without having to worry about following the law.”
But Trump still maintains that those tariffs are good for America and will spur the economy and not spark a recession or inflation. Which raises the question: Does Donald Trump really care what the average American thinks?
Can DeSantis play nice?
Now, turning our attention to the 2028 presidential election. I know, I know, we still must get past the midterms, but Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is focused on the White House, so let’s turn our attention to that.
If DeSantis wants to run for the White House, he’s going to have to learn to play nice with fellow Republicans. These days, he seems to keep picking fights with people in Trump’s inner circle.
It does appear that Florida’s chief executive and the nation’s chief executive are on pretty good terms, at least on the surface, these days.
It was pretty contentious between the two during the presidential primary last year.
But when the pair of politicians appeared together at the opening of “Alligator Alcatraz” in July, they couldn’t say enough nice things about each other.
What a setting to share the love -- at the controversial new migrant detention center in the Everglades.
What was it Trump said? Oh yeah...
“You are my friend, and you’ll always be my friend, and we may have some skirmishes, even in the future. I doubt it, but I will always come back, because we have blood that seems to match pretty well.”
But their blood didn’t seem to be the same type during the primaries, did it?
Here’s what happened.
Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law, decided not to run for Senate in North Carolina. Michael Whatley, the Republican National Committee chair, then said he’d run instead -- with Trump’s backing.
That meant a new RNC chair was needed, and Trump endorsed Joe Gruters for the position.
That came shortly after DeSantis had called out Gruters, his fellow GOP member, accusing him of betraying party voters.
Gruters had filed to run for Florida CFO in 2026 -- with Trump’s backing. But DeSantis was having none of it.
In fact, DeSantis bashed Gruters and his credentials and shrugged off Trump’s endorsement, saying: “If George Washington rose from the dead and came back and tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘Will you appoint Joe Gruters CFO?’ My response would be, ‘No’ ... I can’t do that without betraying the voters that elected me to lead this state in a conservative direction.”
Now you have two extremely powerful people in the Republican party who don’t have DeSantis on their party invite list: Whatley and Gruters.
And Trump is at odds with DeSantis in another area, too. The president is backing Byron Donalds to be Florida’s next governor. While Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis hasn’t yet declared she will run, the signs are all there, meaning she and Donalds would be going head-to-head in the gubernatorial race.
Politics & Power: If Florida’s first lady decides to run, can she hold on to a slim lead for governor over Trump’s pick?
So who will be the president’s closer friend after all is said and done? Just asking out loud. I don’t presume to know the answer.
We sort it all out when Jacksonville University political analyst Matt Corrigan joins me on this week’s Politics & Power.
Watch at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Tuesday on News4JAX+ or watch any time on demand on News4JAX.com, News4JAX+ and our YouTube Channel.