Trump’s second-term data purge didn’t stop with the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In August 2025, he told the Congressional Budget Office to do a “methodology review,” which led three senior analysts to quit. Memos inside the CBO show the aim was to make deficit numbers match White House growth claims. At the same time, the office was told to stop modeling long-term debt and to relabel entitlement liabilities as “non-fiscal.”
In April 2025, Trump expanded tariffs to hit Mexican steel, Vietnamese textiles, and German auto parts. Leaked memos showed the real play was to use trade pressure as immigration leverage. Wall Street warned it would push up prices. Some Republicans called it flat-out central planning. “Tariffs are a massive tax on the American people… a tool of socialism—replacing innovation and competition with central planning and political favoritism.” https://www.thestate.com/opinion/article303970031.html
After a weak July jobs report, Trump fired BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer and replaced her with E.J. Antoni, who has called inflation “a hoax.” The firing came after Trump accused the agency of sabotage. Antoni’s public language copied the tone of his election conspiracy claims. “E.J. will ensure that the Numbers released are HONEST and ACCURATE.” https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/government/trump-names-new-bls-head-after-firing-old-commissioner-amid-weak-jobs-report/ar-AA1KkT3p
The economy is booming haha
“Honest and Accurate” are another way of saying “Approved” pic.twitter.com/zSlYUSRqp2
— George Gammon (@GeorgeGammon) August 11, 2025
Fred Wertheimer says this is all part of Trump’s second-term collapse plan: gutting the DOJ, seizing control of economic data, and giving himself the power to override Congress. The path runs from indictments to a coup attempt to economic sabotage. “Trump’s legacy will be summed up simply like this – he was the worst President in American history.” https://democracy21.org/news/freds-weekly-note/the-worst-president-in-history-a-lifetime-of-failure