Call For U. S. President Donald Trump To Rescind His Aggressive Rhetoric On Russia
To the New African Charter International (NACI), there is no substitute to peace and security, and the two cannot be achieved through threatening the world's most powerful military nation, that is Russia. It was reported worldwide that President Trump has issued a 10-12 days provocative ultimatum to attack Russia's nuclear arsenals if Moscow fails to yield to the desires of the Nazis enclave in the Ukraine, for a ceasefire on the Ukrainian conflict. Earlier, Trump and its western European allies had imposed sanctions that are designed to kill Russians, cause long-term physical and mental injury, and damage the Russian economy.
The New African Charter International critically observes and unequivocally condemns Trump's vile, unwarranted and harmful rhetoric regarding Russia's Special Military Operation in Ukraine, which has become headlines in the news and social media. In general, we forcefully oppose the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's (NATO) efforts at escalation of tension between the alliance and Russia over the Nazis enclave in Ukraine.
NACI fully supports alternative efforts to NATO's neo-Nazis agenda of domination and remote control; and stand in solidarity with Russia and the Russian people. We wish to recognize the remarkable courage of the Russian people for rallying their support behind their leaders, especially the youths, who took to the streets recently, to vent out their grievances towards NATO members who want to be seen as hostile forces against Russia, and who aided also the Ukrainian Nazis enclave's evil attack on Russia's territory, dubbed: 'Operation Spider Web'.
We want to make it very clear to Mr Trump and NATO that their provocative and disrespectful mentality towards Russia is a source of profound concern for the entire global community. We unequivocally denounce these unnecessary escalation, red tagging, hatreds, inflammatory and violent statements, which constitute grave danger to the peace, security, and stability of the global community, with far reaching consequences.
No Russian territory would be the Hiroshima or Nagasaki of the 21st century; Russia is not Libya, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Nigeria, the Sahel region, Sri Lanka, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo or Mozambique where leaked documents have revealed the role of the US and NATO allies in the mass killings and cleansing campaign. Russia, like any other members-state of the United Nations reserves the right to defending its independent sovereignty and territorial integrity against any outside threats, no matter who would be the forces that may be behind such an evil agenda.
Again, we want to warn the US and NATO to abandon their dangerous nuclear war project on Russia as such plan would lead the whole world into a devastating catastrophe. Russia, if attack as Donald Trump is threatening to do, will spare no effort to resist any persistent endeavours to undermine its peace, stability, independent sovereignty and territorial integrity. Trump's latest threats and offensive and unacceptable statements have gone a long way to violate Article 2(4) of the UN Charter. Its represents also, acts of rhetoric aggression as defined under General Assembly resolution 3314 of 1974.
We are also deeply concerned about the reported transfer of US nuclear arsenals to the soil in Britain. We urge countries with ties to the US to uphold international law by opposing this dangerous expansion of the Ukrainian conflict. Mr Trump's aggressive rhetoric on Russia is more regrettable because it came at a when the civilized international community is confronted also with a plethora of challenges, including climate change and biodiversity loss, disaster risks, the ongoing genocide and cleansing in the Palestinian Gaza and other occupied lands and territories in the Middle-east.
Mr Trump's dangerous threats and ill-intention agenda to attack Russia's nuclear arsenals must be condemned in the strongest possible terms by the United Nations and all its members. The global community should rise to the challenges posed by My Trump's nuclear war threats. The global community should rise to the challenges and act decisively and effectively to ease the dangerous and worrisome situation.
In its cherished history as a peaceful sovereign nation, Russia has never provoked conflict, and any response to Trump's latest aggressive rhetoric would only mean a just response to unjust attacks, and to ensure peace and stability, and to send a clear message to the modern Nazis, who are hell-bent on undermining the peace, security and stability of Russia. And as a free, sovereign and independent nation, Russia reserves the right to determine the most appropriate measures to safeguard its security and the well-being of its people.
As we navigate this disturbing mirror, it is warranting to address the concerns of Russia and that the legitimate grievances of the Russian people should not be misconstrued as a weapon for violent political agenda. Trump's aggressive rhetoric on Russia therefore poses grave threat to the existence of humanity. We Call on NATO leaders and politicians to distance themselves from Trump's nuclear war project; to stop supporting or sending provocative language that can intensify existing tension in the Ukrainian conflict. We call on African governments and leaders to any threat of the use of nuclear weapons anywhere, support peace and promote understanding in dealing with issues that posed danger to the existence of the global community.
We are closely monitoring the situation and efforts at diverting nuclear confrontation amongst the world's nuclear powers. The legacy of the 1945 decision by the United States to reign atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki must not be forgotten, and efforts towards the peaceful end of the Ukrainian crisis must be given priority. The New African Charter International does not promote violence, but support peace, justice and stands against all those who seek to destabilize other nations and erode the rights and freedoms of citizens.
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NZ Herald
17 minutes ago
- NZ Herald
Child trafficking ring uncovered in Alabama, 7 arrested
The announcement stunned the communities of Brent and Centreville. The sister cities are on the rural county backroads of central Alabama, a region where churches are almost as prolific as the kudzu vines swallowing much of the summer landscape. For some, the allegations of something so sinister happening in their own backyard has been a test of their deep faith, an acknowledgment of how small towns and rural communities have changed and how systems intended to protect vulnerable children often fail to do so. 'Like everybody, my emotions are all over the place,' said Bobby Terry, a local minister who has been attending the prayer vigils. 'I just don't want the world to think that this is our community. I've been living here my entire life, and there's never been anything of this magnitude. I mean, we have problems, you know, but there's never been anything like this.' To some local residents, sex-abuse scandals are the province of rich elites, like the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, who is pictured on a billboard in nearby Birmingham with President Donald Trump, along with the question, 'What's the big secret, fellas?' It is a reference to accusations that Trump's Justice Department is covering up details from Epstein's alleged sex crimes that could also ensnare the current president, his predecessor Bill Clinton or other famous people who spent time with Epstein decades ago. (Trump has denied any knowledge of Epstein's crimes and had claimed that the two had a falling out years before the disgraced billionaire's convictions on sex crimes.) Authorities allege that sex trafficking and child abuse took place in an underground storm shelter located on rural property in Brent. Photo / The Washington Post Now, at prayer meetings and other gatherings, Bibb County residents have grappled with the realisation that even more horrific crimes than those Epstein was accused of may have been happening in their own town. For some, it has shattered a sense that their small community was safer than bigger cities. But experts say rural areas are among the places where people are the most vulnerable to trafficking and abuse – including in Alabama, where local prosecutors say such cases have been on the rise. 'We can't assume that just because we're in small towns that everything operates like it did in the days of The Andy Griffith Show,' Robert Turner Jr., the district attorney for Alabama's fourth judicial circuit, which includes Bibb County, told WAKA-TV. 'A lot of these small towns may appear to be Mayberry, but they are far from it.' Lynn Ellinghaus, a Brent native, shivered thinking about images she had seen of the bunker on local television. It looked like something 'out of horror movie', she said, as she attended a community vigil. The case was all anyone she knew was talking about, from the kids to the suspects and then the biggest mystery of all: 'How did no one know?' she wondered. 'All that time, and no one saw any sign?' An isolated shelter Wade said his office was tipped off about the possible abuse earlier this year by a caseworker with the Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR), the agency that oversees child welfare. An agency spokesperson declined to comment on any aspect of the case, citing 'confidentiality laws,' and Wade did not respond to requests for comment. But it led investigators to a property along Aaron Drive, 8km from the Centreville town square. The home that investigators visited sits at the end of a long gravel driveway on the edge of thick woods, off a dirt road riddled with potholes. It is surrounded by overgrown grassy lots dotted with wrecked cars and dilapidated mobile homes. Across from the driveway, a faded yellow sign almost entirely concealed by thick green vines reads: 'Watch for children.' The property is linked to a relative of William Chase McElroy, 21, who was initially arrested on February 5 and charged with two counts of sexual abuse for inappropriately touching two young children. According to court records, Andres Trejo-Velazquez, the father of the children, is listed as a witness on the complaint. A judge said McElroy could be released from Bibb County Jail on a $60,000 bond, but it is unclear if he left custody. A week later, he was arrested again and charged with sexually abusing two other children under the age of 7. This time, a judge denied bond. Storm shelter involved in the Bibb County child sex trafficking ring case. Photo / WVTM Inside the storm shelter involved in the Bibb County child sex trafficking ring case. Photo / WVTM Investigators took notice of a structure behind the house that Wade said initially looked like a carport but had a rear door leading to an underground storm shelter. There they found a dirty mattress, a fan, and other furniture. A little over two months later, Dalton Terrell, 21, a high school classmate of McElroy who lived near the bunker, was arrested and charged with multiple counts of rape, sodomy, and human trafficking. According to an April 29 complaint, Terrell admitted to investigators that he had abused six children and that he 'gave money to two adults to use the children'. Wade has said Terrell's co-operation blew open the investigation. The next day, Trejo-Velazquez, 29, was arrested and charged with six counts of human trafficking. Three of the victims were his own children, while a fourth was his partner's daughter, according to court records. On July 15, a Bibb County grand jury indicted McElroy, Terrell and Trejo-Velazquez on additional charges including rape, trafficking, kidnapping and abuse. In late July, four others were arrested and charged in connection to the alleged trafficking and abuse, including Rebecca Brewer, Timothy St. John jnr, Ricky Terrell and Sara Terrell. Brewer, 29, is Trejo-Velazquez's partner and the mother of four victims. She was charged with the trafficking and kidnapping of eight children, including her own, and is also facing multiple counts of sexual torture. Several of the defendants are related. According to public records, Brewer is a cousin of Dalton Terrell and the niece of Sara and Randy Terrell, who are Dalton's parents. Wade has said the victims were children who belonged to the defendants or related to other family members or friends. According to records, St. John, 23, was a high school classmate of several defendants and a neighbour of Brewer and Trejo-Velazquez. Court records made public Friday show that a Bibb County grand jury on Thursday issued fresh indictments against McElroy, Terrell, Trejo-Velazquez and St. John with updated charges including sexual abuse and aggravated child abuse. The indictments allege the men conspired together to abuse and deliberately torture some of the victims. Additional charges against them and the three others are expected in coming weeks. Stuart Albea, a court-appointed attorney for Trejo-Velazquez, said in an email that his client 'denies any involvement in the conduct described in the indictment and looks forward to the opportunity to demonstrate his innocence in court'. Albea said he was 'deeply concerned' by how local law enforcement had made information about the case public even as it has not yet been provided to him or his client. He denied that Trejo-Velazquez was a gang member and said he is a US citizen – two issues that law enforcement officials told reporters they are investigating. 'This conduct appears calculated to poison the jury pool and may make it impossible to seat a fair and impartial jury in rural Bibb County,' Albea said, adding it 'also risks further harm' to the alleged victims 'by placing sensitive allegations in the public eye prematurely'. Attorneys for the other six defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment. All seven are being held without bond at the Bibb County Jail and have not yet entered pleas. Wade said in a July 28 radio interview that some defendants are co-operating with the investigation. 'I think the longer they have time to sit there and maybe repent … we'll get the answers to all the questions that we have to better serve these children,' the sheriff said. The allegations have left many in the community questioning what might've been missed. Wade said last week that the victims attended school and participated in other routine functions – a comment that has sparked scrutiny over whether teachers or others noticed and reported anything. The superintendent of Bibb County Schools did not respond to a request for comment. A playground sits on the campus of Brent Elementary School. Photo / The Washington Post Months before Wade says their office was tipped off about possible abuse by a DHR caseworker, court records show the agency removed four children from Brewer and Trejo-Velazquez's home and placed them in DHR custody. Though it is unclear when the removal happened, records suggest it took place around the time Brewer filed an August 1, 2024, domestic claim against Trejo-Velazquez. Records about that allegation are not public, but a court docket notation describes the case as 'protection' from abuse. In October, an attorney for DHR filed claims against both Brewer and Trejo-Velazquez seeking to garnish any income or financial assistance to help pay for the children's care. Brewer was unemployed, but that December, a judge approved the state's efforts to garnish Trejo-Velazquez's income from a construction firm. Brewer's complaint against Trejo-Velazquez was ultimately dismissed because neither appeared in court. By February, DHR filed petitions in Bibb County to drop the financial claims, writing to the court that the children were no longer in state custody and were back with their parents. A circuit court judge dismissed the cases on March 18, about a month before Trejo-Velazquez was arrested. It's unclear when the children were placed back into state custody. Speaking to reporters, Wade said that so far he believes only those with direct knowledge of the alleged trafficking operation were aware the children were being abused. But Carolyn Potter, a longtime child advocate who is the chief executive of the WellHouse, an Alabama-based nonprofit that operates one of the largest residential treatment programs for trafficking survivors in the country, is sceptical of claims there were no signs. She said people in rural communities beset by poverty are particularly vulnerable to being trafficked by relatives or others with family connections. That's especially true in areas that are less vigorously patrolled by law enforcement, she said. Forty-seven per cent of Brent lives below the poverty level. Identifying trauma in children can also be difficult, Potter said. Teachers often play a key role in reporting possible abuse, given the close bonds they form with their students, she added. Last week, a former Bibb County teacher told Birmingham's WBMA that she repeatedly reported concerns about one of her students during the 2023-24 academic year to school administrators. The student, believed to be one of the victims, showed signs of neglect, including poor hygiene, had chronic absences and exhibited developmental issues, the former teacher told the station, adding that her complaints went nowhere. Terry, the minister who was also a former Bibb County High School teacher and coach until he retired last year, said that teachers undergo mandatory reporting training with DHR representatives. But he also recalled instances in which teachers reported possible abuse and said sometimes, 'nothing happens'. He feared teachers would face criticism for not spotting the alleged abuse in these cases, which he said would be unfair. 'Teachers have too much to do. … They're already being mom and dad and aunt and uncle. And they're being doctor and they're being counsellor and they are being so many different things that they're already doing,' he said. 'These teachers, they love these kids like they're their own.' 'Absolutely shattered' Residents gathered on the lawn of the Bibb County Courthouse two days after Wade's news conference to pray for the victims, law enforcement, the community and each other. Many were angry. They saw the notes on social media calling for things like vigilante justice for the suspects. 'Why do we even need a trial?' one person posted on Facebook. Mike Oakley, the mayor of Centreville, had leapt into action, organising vigils and other public events because he wanted people here to talk and reflect. 'When this happens, you're literally shocked like a punch in the face, a community punch in a face,' he said. Deep down, Oakley knew the small-town experience wasn't the same for everybody. Many in Brent and Centreville now commute into Birmingham and Tuscaloosa instead of working in town and getting to know their neighbours. 'In the South, we are all about being front porch people, knowing our neighbours, talking to them,' he said. 'We need to be that way again.' Concerned residents gather at the Friendship Lodge near the Bibb County Courthouse in Centreville. Photo / The Washington Post But first, they needed to pray. They prayed outside the courthouse, where the defendants will appear before a judge in coming weeks. Inside the church the following evening, they sat in small groups praying for everybody involved – some grudgingly, including the accused. Ellinghaus, who grew up in Brent, kept thinking about another event in her small city that made national news 52 years ago. In May 1973, the town took a direct hit from one of the most violent tornadoes to ever hit the state. It destroyed 90% of the city, including her childhood home. Many people lost everything. A memorial along Main St marks the date, describing Brent as a city 'proven by tempest'. But Ellinghaus worried the allegations of child sex abuse and trafficking, if proved, could end up being more damaging to the city than the tornado. 'People are just absolutely shattered over this,' she said. ' … No one thought anything like this could happen here.
NZ Herald
an hour ago
- NZ Herald
‘It's a massive tax' - can Trump's tariffs reduce inequality, or will they enhance it?
The President doesn't talk much about inequality. But his animating argument for tariffs — that they will pressure companies to bring well-paid manufacturing jobs back to America — is pitched to those workers who felt left behind and neglected. So, will the tariffs reduce inequality? Probably not, and here's why. Hyper globalisation certainly contributed to America's rising inequality. Consumers saved hundreds of dollars on the cost of televisions, shoes, and comforters. But many middle-class livelihoods and communities were destroyed when factories either relocated to countries where wages were lower or went bust because they couldn't compete with cheap imports. China's entry into the global marketplace at the beginning of this century delivered a major wallop. Between 1999 and 2011, Chinese imports were directly responsible for the loss of 2.4 million American jobs, according to researchers. It is true that more jobs were created, but many of them did not pay as well as those that were eliminated, nor were they taken by the workers who lost out. Still, cheaper imports were only one part of the story. Automation and the creation of a digital economy that introduced online selling and cloud-based services had a far greater effect on the American economy. Take manufacturing. Of the six million factory jobs erased during the 2000s, Chinese imports accounted for about one-sixth of the losses, or one million jobs. But the other five million were killed off by other forces. For years, labour unions had bargained for higher wages, overtime pay and other benefits. But their ranks significantly declined. A street in Elyria, Ohio, once home to many manufacturing plants, on September 18, 2017. Many middle-class livelihoods and communities were destroyed when factories relocated to other countries. Photo / Andrew Spear, The New York Times Automobile factories, for instance, not only moved from Michigan to Mexico, they also moved to southern states including Alabama and Tennessee, where anti-union laws were common and wages were lower. I visited a meat processing plant in Storm Lake, Iowa, during Trump's first term. One of the workers was hired in 1980, when it was a union shop. His starting salary was US$16 an hour plus benefits. When I met him, 37 years later, that plant was no longer unionised, and his pay was still US$16 an hour. The growth of mega firms like Google, Apple, Amazon and Walmart that ate up or weeded out the competition also gave companies power over pricing and wages. The result was that the slice of the total economic pie going to workers shrank. If inequality has multiple causes, why do trade and globalisation get blamed so much? The fallout from globalisation packed a particular punch. Trade can cause economic losses to pile up and overwhelm a locale, such as Hickory, North Carolina, once a powerhouse of furniture making. Another reason is that political leaders exploit economic setbacks and insecurities. Trade offered a simple and satisfying explanation — even if not wholly accurate — that outsiders were to blame. For many people, foreign competition also set off deep cultural and economic anxieties. Diana Mutz, a political scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, argues that many Americans, including Trump, view trade as a zero-sum game rather than a co-operative enterprise in which everyone can benefit. Foxconn workers on an assembly line at Quanta factory in Chongqing, China, on November 27, 2012. In the early 2000s, Chinese imports were directly responsible for the loss of 2.4 million American jobs, according to researchers. Photo / Gilles Sabrie, The New York Times Through that lens, trade is a pitiless dogfight that is desirable only if the US is the 'winner' and other countries are losers. Americans also tend to expect the government to respond more strongly to job losses that result from trade compared with other economic forces. Dani Rodrik, an economist at Harvard University, helped conduct a large online survey in which respondents read a made-up newspaper article about the closure of a garment factory that provided different reasons for the shutdown. One group was told it was because of new technology. A second was told management bungling was the culprit. A third group was told trade, such as relocating production abroad, was the cause. When trade was the cause, the number of people who demanded that the government respond doubled or tripled. 'Foreign trade is particularly prone to charges of unfairness,' Rodrik writes, because countries operate under differing rules and conditions. Government subsidies, weaker health and environmental regulations or sweatshop conditions, for instance, bestow an unfair competitive advantage. For decades, 'fair trade' has been the rallying cry of protectionists who complained of an uneven playing field. A former glass factory is set up as a battery factory in Bridgeport, West Virginia, on February 9, 2023. Oren Cass, the chief economist at American Compass, a conservative think-tank, says that factories can boost regions that need it. Photo / Andrew Spear, The New York Times That sounds like Trump's tariffs could make a difference, no? Tariffs can certainly affect how income is distributed — either increasing or decreasing inequality. Oren Cass, chief economist at American Compass, a conservative think-tank, says that with the Trump tariffs, the effect would be positive. He argues that factories, often located outside of the tech, finance and media capitals, can boost regions that need it. A factory creates jobs and serves as an economic hub. That in turn generates other jobs — for barbers, baristas, and manicurists. 'Reorienting the economy toward one that is going to better serve the average worker,' could reduce inequality, Cass said. But other economists disagreed, arguing that the President's tariffs and the haphazard way they were imposed will amplify inequality. While some select industries will benefit from added protection, the biggest burden, they agreed, will fall on low- and middle-income households. The cost of pretty much everything will go up because of tariffs. 'It's a massive tax,' said Kimberly Clausing, a professor of tax law and policy at the UCLA School of Law. She expects that four out of five Americans will be worse off. So far, the overall average effective tariff rate has jumped from 2.4% in early January to 18.3%, according to the Budget Lab at Yale University. On average, higher prices will end up costing each household an extra US$2400 this year. Shoes and clothing prices, for example, are expected to rise by as much as 40% in the short run, the Budget Lab estimated. Prices are expected to stay at 17% or 19% higher over the long run. US businesses, particularly small and medium-sized ones, will also feel the pinch of higher costs. Some 40% of imports are used to produce or build things in the US. Construction costs are likely to jump. The Budget Lab estimates that by the end of this year, US payrolls will shrink by nearly 500,000 jobs. As for manufacturing, the number of jobs might grow, but they won't be like the well-paid ones that high school graduates used to get. Most factories are highly automated and run with computer technology. Last year, the US steel industry employed 86,000 people and produced roughly 88 million tonnes of raw steel. In 1970, it took 354,000 steelworkers to produce that same amount, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute. I recently visited one of the largest steel plants in Europe. I saw titanic machinery and control stations with computer screens, but hardly any workers on the floor. Today, the best paying manufacturing jobs require significant training and skills. Those that don't, offer low wages. At the moment there are more than 400,000 unfilled manufacturing jobs in the US. Even if the US$1.2 trillion trade deficit were erased, and purchases of foreign goods were replaced by domestic ones, the US would still not turn into a manufacturing powerhouse, said Robert Lawrence, an economist at Harvard University. Nor would it reduce inequality. Under that scenario, Lawrence calculated that manufacturing jobs would rise from 7.9% to just 9.7% of total employment. And less than half of those would actually involve work in production. The rest are in sales, management and accounting. Lawrence, whose book Behind the Curve examines the role that manufacturing plays in the economy, explained that 'even if all these policies were actually successful in bringing back as much manufacturing as possible, it's too small to change the basic income distribution in the economy.' This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Written by: Patricia Cohen Photographs by: Mark Abramson, Andrew Spear, Gilles Sabrie ©2025 THE NEW YORK TIMES
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
The Trump administration takes a very Orwellian turn
By Aaron Blake , CNN US President Donald Trump. Photo: AFP Analysis - Back in March, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order targeted at the Smithsonian Institution that began as follows: "Over the past decade, Americans have witnessed a concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation's history, replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth." Despite the high-minded rhetoric, many worried the order was instead a thinly veiled effort to rewrite history more to Trump's liking. The order, for example, cited a desire to remove "improper ideology" - an ominous phrase, if there ever was one - from properties like the Smithsonian. Those concerns were certainly bolstered this week. We learned that some historical information that recently vanished from the Smithsonian just so happens to have been objective history that Trump really dislikes: a reference to his two impeachments. The Smithsonian said that a board containing the information was removed from the National Museum of American History last month after a review of the museum's "legacy content." The board had been placed in front of an existing impeachment exhibit in September 2021. Just to drive this home: The exhibit itself is about "Limits of Presidential Power." And suddenly examples of the biggest efforts by Congress to limit Trump's were gone. It wasn't immediately clear that the board was removed pursuant to Trump's executive order. The Washington Post, which broke the news, reported that a source said the content review came after pressure from the White House to remove an art museum director. In other words, we don't know all the details of precisely how this went down - including whether the removal was specifically requested, or whether museum officials decided it might be a good way to placate Trump amid pressure. The Smithsonian said in a statement that it was "not asked by any administration" or government official to remove content and that an updated version of the exhibit will ultimately mention all impeachment efforts, including Trump's. But it's all pretty Orwellian. And it's not the only example. Trump has always been rather blatant about his efforts to rewrite history with self-serving falsehoods and rather shameless in applying pressure on the people who would serve as impartial referees of the current narrative. But this week has taken things to another level. Last week, Trump fired the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics . This came just hours after that agency delivered Trump some very bad news: the worst non-Covid three-month jobs numbers since 2010. Some Trump allies have attempted to put a good face on this, arguing that Dr Erika McEntarfer's removal was warranted because large revisions in the job numbers betrayed shoddy work. But as he did with the firing of then-FBI Director James Comey eight years ago, Trump quickly undermined all that. He told Newsmax that "we fired her because we didn't believe the numbers today." To the extent Trump did lay out an actual evidence-based case for firing McEntarfer, that evidence was conspiratorial and wrong, as CNN's Daniel Dale documented Friday. And even some Republican senators acknowledged this might be precisely as draconian and self-serving as it looked. Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, for one, called it "kind of impetuous" to fire the BLS head before finding out whether the new numbers were actually wrong. "It's not the statistician's fault if the numbers are accurate and that they're not what the president had hoped for," said Lummis, who is not often a Trump critic. Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina added that if Trump "just did it because they didn't like the numbers, they ought to grow up." Senators Rand Paul of Kentucky and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska both worried that Trump's move would make it so people can't trust the data the administration is putting out. And that's the real problem here. It's not so much that Trump appears to be firing someone as retaliation; it's the message it sends to everyone else in a similar position. The message is that you might want that data and those conclusions to be to Trump's liking, or else. It's a recipe for getting plenty of unreliable data and conclusions. And even to the extent that information is solid, it will seed suspicions about the books having been cooked - both among regular Americans and, crucially, among those making key decisions that impact the economy. What happens if the next jobs report is great? Will the markets believe it? We've certainly seen plenty of rather blunt Trump efforts to control such narratives and rewrite history before. A sampling: All of it reinforces the idea that Trump is trying to consolidate power by pursuing rather heavy-handed and blatant tactics. But if there's a week that really drove home how blunt these efforts can be, it might be this one. - CNN
