Agustina Vergara Cid: Trump Resembles These South American Authoritarians

Agustina Vergara Cid: Trump resembles these South American authoritarians

When President Trump fired the Commissioner of Labor Statistics earlier this month, hours after a weak jobs report, it gave me a déjà vu from my youth in Argentina. In 2007, leftist President Cristina Kirchner similarly fired those responsible for government statistics and installed loyalists who’d issue “friendlier” numbers. Trump and the Kirchner coalition sit on opposite sides of the conventional left–right political spectrum, yet they share …

Trump fired the U.S. economic data chief. Argentina has a costly lesson for him

Argentina once booted statistician Graciela Bevacqua for refusing to produce lower inflation figures, deepening a cycle of turmoil.

Trump fired BLS head Erika McEntarfer and claimed July’s jobs report was rigged without proof

Wall Street investors are cutting their reliance on government job data after Donald Trump accused the BLS of faking July’s labor numbers and fired the agency’s head, Erika McEntarfer. The blow came fast. Trump made the claim with no evidence, but the damage didn’t need proof. According to data from Bloomberg, the firing shook long-standing confidence in what used to be seen as the most neutral set of economic numbers in the U.S. Philip Petursso…