Latest news with #Trump-friendly
Politico
17 hours ago
- Business
- Politico
The billionaire, the vigilante and the mayor
CATS' CAMPAIGN: An eccentric billionaire grocery store magnate, a red beret-wearing vigilante who fosters cats and a nightclub-hopping Democratic mayor are at the heart of a battle over the GOP ballot line for New York City mayor. GOP megadonor John Catsimatidis wants his fellow billionaires to line up behind Mayor Eric Adams' longshot reelection bid to block the ascent of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, according to several people familiar with internal discussions and granted anonymity to speak freely. But the actual Republican nominee, Curtis Sliwa, said he won't be cowed from leaving the race. Catsimatidis relayed his support for Adams in a brief interview with POLITICO while staying diplomatic about Sliwa. 'The only people who are going to help Eric Adams is Washington, whether it's (border czar) Tom Homan, whether it's Donald Trump,' Catsimatidis said. 'And Tom and Donald Trump want a safe New York.' Finance executives and aligned Republicans have been huddling since Mamdani's primary night upset on how to derail the election of a democratic socialist targeting the wealthy. And boosting the Trump-friendly independent candidate Adams at the expense of Sliwa has emerged as consensus — even as the mayor faces campaign finance hurdles and dismal approval ratings. Sliwa is insistent he will actively campaign and said pressuring him to drop out is futile. 'I'm not getting out of this race unless they figure out a way to put me in a pine box and bury me six feet under,' the Guardian Angels founder told POLITICO. Catsimatidis, Sliwa's boss at WABC radio, did not deny he's pulling for Adams but stressed that Sliwa is a longtime friend. 'Right now, Curtis has to make up his own mind,' Catsimatidis said. Billionaire Bill Ackman separately has promised to bankroll a viable business-friendly candidate against Mamdani, a state lawmaker whose ascendant campaign shocked the establishment. But the ballot lines for November are set. Sliwa, known as much for his decades of patrolling the subways as he is for his heavy-handed antics, said he'll run on the GOP and independent 'protect animals' ballot lines. So far, the New York GOP has his back. Former Gov. George Pataki and state party chair Ed Cox fundraised Thursday with Sliwa among Asian Americans. The party is preparing for a general election with Mamdani as the presumptive Democratic nominee, and the tenacious Adams, business leader Jim Walden and primary loser Andrew Cuomo as independents. Whether Cuomo runs an active campaign remains unclear. Sliwa said that even a Trump intervention, direct request or offer to join his administration would not succeed in removing him from the race for mayor. 'If the president were to call,' Sliwa said, 'I, very respectfully, would say, 'President Trump. I'm interested in only one job: being mayor of the city of New York.'' Read more from POLITICO's Emily Ngo. From the Capitol TODAY IS THE DAY: Eight bidders are finally submitting their applications to nab a license to operate what could be some of the most lucrative casinos in the world. Today is the deadline for casino bidders in the New York City area to turn in thousands and thousands of pages of applications — so enormous in scale that some are being delivered by the truckload — to the state's gaming commission as they vie for three state licenses to operate a casino. The bidders include: A Times Square casino backed by Jay-Z, a Citi Field casino from Mets billionaire owner Steve Cohen, a Bronx casino on the site of the former Trump Links golf course, a Coney Island casino steps from the boardwalk, a 'Freedom Plaza' casino right near the United Nations building and a casino on Manhattan's West Side overlooking the Hudson. Two other bidders — Queens' Resorts World NYC and Yonkers' Empire City — are also vying for the licenses. The two sites already operate 'racinos' where people bet on horse racing through digital machines, and many involved in the process acknowledge that this gives them a steep advantage over the other bids. The state's 'Gaming Facility Location Board' will assess the proposals through a detailed rubric that evaluates community support and 'speed to market' as some of the important factors. With the deadline today, many of the bidders are blasting out press releases celebrating their proposals. Resorts World is touting a video with the rapper Nas and a plan to generate over $1 billion for the MTA in the first five years. Cohen is releasing video renderings of what Citi Field could look like with a massive gaming and entertainment complex next door. And Empire City is expecting its gross gaming revenue to surpass $960 million per year. 'We've spent years engaging with the community so that we could put together a bid that combines the needs of the neighborhood with the stated goals of New York State,' said Dan Boren, secretary of commerce for the Chickasaw Nation, which is behind the Coney Island bid. 'We are excited and proud to submit this proposal and look forward to the next steps of this process.' — Jason Beeferman FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL MAMDANI'S LABOR NODS: Two major labor unions that backed Cuomo's failed Democratic mayoral bid endorsed upstart democratic socialist Mamdani. The Hotel and Gaming Trades Council and 32BJ SEIU, which represents building service workers in New York City, will back the Democratic nominee as Cuomo ponders whether to actively campaign as an independent. 'This is a campaign for the working people of this city who deserve dignity on the job and neighborhoods they can afford,' Mamdani said in a statement. 'That's exactly who HTC and 32BJ fights and delivers for every single day, and I am honored to have their support as the Democratic nominee for Mayor of New York. Together, we will win a new day for the New Yorkers who keep this city running every single day.' The endorsements are an indication Mamdani is pulling together institutional support after his upset bid over the moderate Democratic ex-governor. Mamdani is set to meet next month with influential business leaders who are skeptical of his tax and spending proposals, according to NY1. Read more from POLITICO's Nick Reisman and Sally Goldenberg. GTFO: All four Muslim Democratic House members are denouncing 'racist smears' against Mamdani from lawmakers in both parties since his primary win, POLITICO first reported. 'The vile, anti-Muslim and racist smears from our colleagues on both sides of the aisle attacking Zohran Mamdani cannot be met with silence. These hateful, Islamophobic, and racist tropes have become so entrenched and normalized in our politics,' said Reps. Andre Carson of Indiana, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Lateefah Simon of California in a statement. Mamdani, who would become New York's first Muslim mayor, has faced attacks from GOP lawmakers after his primary win this week. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) tied him to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) called for him to be deported, among others. The left was also concerned about since-clarified comments from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) about Mamdani's rhetoric about Israel. Brooklyn Democratic Party leader Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn also forcefully defended Mamdani on Friday, calling the attacks 'baseless and unconstitutional' in a statement. Bichotte Hermelyn endorsed Cuomo in the primary, but threw support to Mamdani for the general election.— Jeff Coltin IN OTHER NEWS — CUOMO ON THE BALLOT: We don't know for sure whether Cuomo will run in the general election, but he will be on New Yorkers' ballots. (New York Post) — FROM MOM AND DAD: Mamdani's parents talk to the Times' and say Mamdani's views are his, not his parents. (The New York Times) — SHE'S BACK: Ingrid Lewis-Martin, former top aide to Adams until she was indicted on bribery charges, is working on his reelection bid. (Daily News) Missed this morning's New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.
Politico
18 hours ago
- Business
- Politico
Billionaire and radio host John Catsimatidis prefers Eric Adams over fellow Republican in mayor's race
NEW YORK — An eccentric billionaire grocery store magnate, a red beret-wearing vigilante who fosters cats and a nightclub-hopping Democratic mayor are at the heart of a battle over the GOP ballot line for New York City mayor. GOP megadonor John Catsimatidis wants his fellow billionaires to line up behind Mayor Eric Adams' longshot reelection bid to block the ascent of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, according to several people familiar with internal discussions and granted anonymity to speak freely about closed-door strategy. But the actual Republican nominee, Curtis Sliwa, said he won't be cowed from leaving the race. Catsimatidis relayed his support for Adams in a brief interview with POLITICO, commending the mayor's working relationship with the Trump administration, while staying diplomatic about Sliwa. 'The only people who are going to help Eric Adams is Washington, whether it's (border czar) Tom Homan, whether it's Donald Trump,' Catsimatidis said. 'And Tom and Donald Trump want a safe New York.' Finance executives and aligned Republicans have been huddling since Mamdani's primary night upset on how to derail the election of a democratic socialist targeting the wealthy. And boosting the Trump-friendly independent candidate Adams at the expense of Sliwa has emerged as consensus — even as the mayor faces campaign finance hurdles and dismal approval ratings. Sliwa is insistent he will actively campaign and said pressuring him to drop out is futile. 'I'm not getting out of this race unless they figure out a way to put me in a pine box and bury me six feet under,' the Guardian Angels founder told POLITICO. Catsimatidis, Sliwa's boss at WABC radio, did not deny he's pulling for Adams but stressed that Sliwa is a longtime friend. 'Right now, Curtis has to make up his own mind,' Catsimatidis said. Billionaire Bill Ackman separately has promised to bankroll a viable business-friendly candidate against Mamdani, a state lawmaker whose ascendant campaign shocked the establishment. But the ballot lines for November are set. Sliwa, known as much for his decades of patrolling the subways as he is for his heavy-handed antics and many foster cats, said he'll run on the GOP and independent 'protect animals' ballot lines. So far, the New York GOP has his back. Former Gov. George Pataki and state party chair Ed Cox fundraised Thursday with Sliwa among Asian Americans. The party is preparing for a general election with Mamdani as the presumptive Democratic nominee, and the tenacious Adams, business leader Jim Walden and primary loser Andrew Cuomo as independents. Whether Cuomo runs an active campaign remains unclear. Sliwa railed against Adams as corrupt, referencing his since-dropped bribery charges, and blamed the mayor for the pressure campaign to get Sliwa out of the race. 'He's a crook,' Sliwa said in an interview. 'A lot of good men and women lost their careers who happened to be Republican conservative prosecutors because of Eric Adams, and he's the luckiest man alive because he should be in a jail cell right now with Bobby Menendez.' Adams has denied wrongdoing and called the prosecution against him politicized. Sliwa said that even a Trump intervention, direct request or offer to join his administration would not succeed in removing him from the race for mayor. 'If the president were to call, I, very respectfully, would say, 'President Trump. I'm interested in only one job: being mayor of the city of New York,'' Sliwa said. 'I'm the Republican nominee. I'm the 'protecting animals' independent party nominee, and I'm running 'til November 4, until the vote to figure out who our next mayor is.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kari Lake heads to Capitol Hill after gutting an agency Trump hates
Kari Lake, the staunch Trump ally and senior adviser at the U.S. Agency for Global Media, will tout massive cuts to an agency that's been a target of Republican hostility for years on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. Lake's testimony to the House Foreign Affairs Committee — for a hearing entitled 'Spies, Lies, and Mismanagement: Examining the U.S. Agency for Global Media's Downfall' — is expected to shine a spotlight on her role in President Donald Trump's broader effort to downsize federal bureaucracy, reduce government spending and reprimand media outlets the president views as unfriendly. Lake announced last week that USAGM eliminated 1,400 positions — an 85 percent cut of the personnel from March, when Trump signed an executive order gutting the agency. Lake said in a memo Friday that 250 employees remain at the agency, which directly oversees Voice of America and funds several other independent broadcast outlets stationed around the world. USAGM is also clawing back $17 million previously allocated to those stations and redirected to unspecified 'mission support.' In March, Lake announced the agency was terminating its lease in a Washington office building, citing its cost. Lake said in Friday's memo her testimony to Congress will 'expose the USAGM's record of waste, mismanagement, self-dealing, and national security failures.' After rising to national prominence on the back of two failed statewide campaigns in Arizona in 2022 and 2024 — in which she aligned herself closely to Trump, including by making false claims denying the results of the 2020 presidential election — Lake reportedly angled for a role overseeing VOA to draw on her experience as a former local news anchor. Before stepping into her role at USAGM, Lake appeared to make an argument for recasting VOA as a Trump-friendly global media outlet, rather than hollowing out the network. 'We are fighting an information war, and there's no better weapon than the truth, and I believe VOA can be that weapon,' she said at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February, about a week before she was appointed as a senior adviser to the agency. But since then, she's executed the dismantling of an agency Republicans, including Trump, have held in contempt dating back to the first Trump administration. During Trump's first term, his nomination of conservative ally Michael Pack to serve as CEO of USAGM was stalled for weeks by Senate Democrats. In being appointed to current her role as senior adviser, Lake has avoided the Senate confirmation process. Lake's gouging of USAGM allows her to deliver a victory for Trump in his ongoing war with several major mainstream media organizations — which he's greatly accelerated since returning to office. The Trump administration has fought to keep the Associated Press from covering events on White House grounds. The White House has pushed Congress to codify over $1 billion in spending cuts to NPR and PBS, while the president continues to fight legal battles seeking damages for various outlets' coverage of him. USAGM provides independent news and information to countries around the world, targeted primarily at nations with limited press freedom. The agency dates back to the founding of VOA in 1942 to combat Nazi propaganda. In addition to VOA, the agency oversees or funds Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting and Middle East Broadcast Networks. 'The elimination of VOA's four-dozen language services wiped out the most effective and cost-efficient instrument of American soft power and public diplomacy,' said Steve Herman, a former VOA correspondent who is soon set to helm the University of Mississippi's Center for Journalism Advocacy and Innovation. 'The loss to American prestige and credibility will be long-lasting and probably incalculable." Herman, like nearly the entirety of VOA's staff, was placed on administrative leave ahead of the terminations. VOA's role in U.S. foreign policy came into stark relief in the wake of the war between Israel and Iran. Staff who worked in VOA's Persian-language service before being placed on leave were called back into work earlier this month to counter the messaging of Iranian state media. Some of those staffers also received termination notices last week, POLITICO previously reported. USAGM did not respond to a request for comment. Despite her reputation as one of Trump's most loyal defenders, Lake's political future remains uncertain. She's ruled out another run for office for now in Arizona or in Iowa, where she grew up. But Lake's success in implementing Trump's goals for an agency he's long derided could position her for a bigger role in the administration. In response to a social media post announcing the cuts at USAGM, the X user DataRepublican, a prominent MAGA poster who had won praise from Elon Musk and others, replied 'Next: Kari Lake for [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] Director Then: Kari Lake for IRS Commissioner Finally: Kari Lake for Fed Chairwoman,' ticking through three agencies reviled by much of the president's base. Lake replied to the comment with three green checkmarks, signaling her approval for each suggestion.
Politico
3 days ago
- Politics
- Politico
Kari Lake heads to Capitol Hill after gutting an agency Trump hates
Kari Lake, the staunch Trump ally and senior adviser at the U.S. Agency for Global Media, will tout massive cuts to an agency that's been a target of Republican hostility for years on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. Lake's testimony to the House Foreign Affairs Committee — for a hearing entitled 'Spies, Lies, and Mismanagement: Examining the U.S. Agency for Global Media's Downfall' — is expected to shine a spotlight on her role in President Donald Trump's broader effort to downsize federal bureaucracy, reduce government spending and reprimand media outlets the president views as unfriendly. Lake announced last week that USAGM eliminated 1,400 positions — an 85 percent cut of the personnel from March, when Trump signed an executive order gutting the agency. Lake said in a memo Friday that 250 employees remain at the agency, which directly oversees Voice of America and funds several other independent broadcast outlets stationed around the world. USAGM is also clawing back $17 million previously allocated to those stations and redirected to unspecified 'mission support.' In March, Lake announced the agency was terminating its lease in a Washington office building, citing its cost. Lake said in Friday's memo her testimony to Congress will 'expose the USAGM's record of waste, mismanagement, self-dealing, and national security failures.' After rising to national prominence on the back of two failed statewide campaigns in Arizona in 2022 and 2024 — in which she aligned herself closely to Trump, including by making false claims denying the results of the 2020 presidential election — Lake reportedly angled for a role overseeing VOA to draw on her experience as a former local news anchor. Before stepping into her role at USAGM, Lake appeared to make an argument for recasting VOA as a Trump-friendly global media outlet, rather than hollowing out the network. 'We are fighting an information war, and there's no better weapon than the truth, and I believe VOA can be that weapon,' she said at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February, about a week before she was appointed as a senior adviser to the agency. But since then, she's executed the dismantling of an agency Republicans, including Trump, have held in contempt dating back to the first Trump administration. During Trump's first term, his nomination of conservative ally Michael Pack to serve as CEO of USAGM was stalled for weeks by Senate Democrats. In being appointed to current her role as senior adviser, Lake has avoided the Senate confirmation process. Lake's gouging of USAGM allows her to deliver a victory for Trump in his ongoing war with several major mainstream media organizations — which he's greatly accelerated since returning to office. The Trump administration has fought to keep the Associated Press from covering events on White House grounds. The White House has pushed Congress to codify over $1 billion in spending cuts to NPR and PBS, while the president continues to fight legal battles seeking damages for various outlets' coverage of him. USAGM provides independent news and information to countries around the world, targeted primarily at nations with limited press freedom. The agency dates back to the founding of VOA in 1942 to combat Nazi propaganda. In addition to VOA, the agency oversees or funds Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting and Middle East Broadcast Networks. 'The elimination of VOA's four-dozen language services wiped out the most effective and cost-efficient instrument of American soft power and public diplomacy,' said Steve Herman, a former VOA correspondent who is soon set to helm the University of Mississippi's Center for Journalism Advocacy and Innovation. 'The loss to American prestige and credibility will be long-lasting and probably incalculable.' Herman, like nearly the entirety of VOA's staff, was placed on administrative leave ahead of the terminations. VOA's role in U.S. foreign policy came into stark relief in the wake of the war between Israel and Iran. Staff who worked in VOA's Persian-language service before being placed on leave were called back into work earlier this month to counter the messaging of Iranian state media. Some of those staffers also received termination notices last week, POLITICO previously reported. USAGM did not respond to a request for comment. Despite her reputation as one of Trump's most loyal defenders, Lake's political future remains uncertain. She's ruled out another run for office for now in Arizona or in Iowa, where she grew up. But Lake's success in implementing Trump's goals for an agency he's long derided could position her for a bigger role in the administration. In response to a social media post announcing the cuts at USAGM, the X user DataRepublican, a prominent MAGA poster who had won praise from Elon Musk and others, replied 'Next: Kari Lake for [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] Director Then: Kari Lake for IRS Commissioner Finally: Kari Lake for Fed Chairwoman,' ticking through three agencies reviled by much of the president's base. Lake replied to the comment with three green checkmarks, signaling her approval for each suggestion.
Miami Herald
4 days ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
Michael Hiltzik: Claiming a historic gain in blue-collar wage growth, Trump shows how to use statistics to mislead
You may have seen an eye-opening statement recently from the Trump White House crowing about its success in pushing up "blue-collar wage growth." The statement was headlined: "Blue-Collar Wage Growth Sees Largest Increase in Nearly 60 Years Under Trump." It purported to track real wages for hourly workers during Trump's first five months in office, and compared that figure to the first five months in office of Trump's predecessors. "We're just getting started with pro-growth, pro-prosperity policies that finally put America First," the White House boasted. There are enough questions about how the White House arrived at this conclusion, and why anyone should trust it, to mark it as a sterling demonstration of how to employ cherry-picking to lie with statistics. In conjunction with the announcement, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gave a preening interview to the New York Post, a Trump-friendly daily that repeated the claim without examination. He also appeared on a New York Post podcast to promote the administration's purportedly near-record-setting achievement. Bessent didn't disclose the administration's methodology, or explain what the first five months of a presidential term was supposed to reveal, so I had to parse the data myself, with the crucial assistance of some professional economists. More on that in a moment. The basis for Trump's claim is a government statistic tracking inflation-adjusted hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees in the private sector, pegged to prices in 1982-1984. The workers tend to be rank-and-file employees, though economic analysts Philippa Dunne and Doug Henwood of TLRAnalytics note that it's a stretch to call them "blue-collar." The term customarily applies to laborers, not "bartenders, teachers or retail workers" whose earnings are also tracked by the statistic. Trump cited wage growth from Jan. 1 through May 31 this year. As it happens, however, Trump wasn't president for that entire period; he took office on Jan. 20, so at least some of his claim covered the last three weeks of the Biden administration. In other words, some of what Trump bragged about was the work of Biden - the strength of whose economy spilled over into Trump's term. (Trumpworld hasn't been shy about blaming Biden for economic problems that have bubbled up over the last few months, so it's a bit churlish of him to deny Biden credit for this.) Indeed, one important question related to Trump's claim goes to what he has actually done that would produce wage gains on this scale. The answer is: nothing. The likelihood is that whatever phenomenon is measurable at this point in the year reflects the Biden economy. "A really strong economy was handed off to the Trump administration," says Josh Bivens, chief economist at the labor-affiliated Economic Policy Institute, "and so far, it has mostly held." In the New York Post podcast, Bessent attributed the purported wage gains to Trump's "emphasis on manufacturing," along with "12 or 20 million illegal aliens coming out of the workforce." In neither category, however, have Trump policies actually achieved anything solid. Manufacturing output, as measured by the Federal Reserve, fell in three of the first five months of this year, following a powerful gain in December, the last full month of the Biden administration. As of May, U.S. manufacturing is operating at a slightly lower percent of capacity than it was in December. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that manufacturing employment fell by 8,000 in May, by 2,000 over the three months ending in May, and by 9,000 over the six months ending in May. If there's a renaissance in manufacturing jobs attributable to Trump industrial policy, it's not visible in the official numbers. Bessent's statement about the millions of "illegal aliens" coming out of the workforce is especially chimerical. Authoritative estimates place the total of undocumented residents in the U.S. at about 11 million to 11.7 million. Unless Bessent thinks that every one of them is no longer in the workforce, he misspoke. (I am being charitable.) Immigration and Customs Enforcement itself claims to have deported 65,000 immigrants in the first 100 days of Trump's term, ended April 29. To assert that taking those individuals out of the workforce was enough to have triggered a surge in hourly wages for legal residents is absurd. That's especially so because many undocumented workers take jobs that employers find difficult, if not impossible, to fill from among legal residents. As Amy Taxin and Dorany Pineda of the Associated Press reported, in some parts of California's agricultural belt as many as 45% of farmworkers have stopped coming to work since federal agents launched sweeping raids on farms and other locations employing immigrants. The construction industry also has suffered from a dwindling supply of immigrant workers, with few legally present workers available to replace them. A fundamental question about the White House claim is why it chose to measure itself against the first five months of previous administrations. Why not the first five months of all presidential terms? Or any other five-month period? I asked the White House and Treasury Department to comment on the administration's statistic. I got no answer from the White House and nothing on the record from Treasury. The time frame cited by the White House is curiously selective. The historical comparison to the first five months of one-term presidents and the first terms of two-term presidents doesn't apply to Trump: "This is Trump's second term, so he's not really a member of this club," observe Dunne and Henwood. They note, further, that the five-month annualized gain in worker wages is "a silly metric." The statistic is notoriously volatile, and averaging such a short period only exacerbates its ephemerality. Judging from five-month annualized averages over time, moreover, "Trump's 1.7% is high, but not eye-popping," Dunne and Henwood told me. They're right. Going back to October 2022, the five-month average was higher than Trump's in 12 of the last 32 months. That includes five months of Biden's term - July through October 2024. The highest annualized five-month gain in real average hourly wages was recorded in September 2024, when it reached about 3.2%. What makes the question especially pertinent is that, with a few notable exceptions, little of significance happens in the first five months of a new presidential term. It takes time for newly-elected presidents to assemble their cabinet, cue up a legislative program, address the problems - or coast on the economic health - bequeathed them by their predecessors. Obama's first term was consumed with undoing the damage of the Great Recession, which was a product largely of Republican economic policymaking. During his term, Biden had to deal with the consequences of the COVID pandemic. It's proper to recognize that even assembling the statistics that the Trump administration decided to torture for its news release may become more difficult in the future. That's because Trump is taking a hatchet to the government's economic data infrastructure. Several datasets have been deleted from federal websites. Budget cuts and mass firings will hobble data collection, and expert advisory committees serving the Census Bureau, BLS and Bureau of Economic Analysis have been disbanded. The result of these and other assaults, wrote Jed Kolko, a former undersecretary for economic affairs at the Commerce Department overseeing data operations at the Census Bureau and BEA, will include the destruction of trust in U.S. economic data. "Governments hide or manipulate the numbers only when they're bad, as Argentina did with inflation, Greece with public finances, and China with its youth unemployment rate," Kolko wrote. The consequences will extend beyond government agencies. "In the private sector, businesses use federal statistics for investment and marketing decisions," Kolko added. "Official statistics on population growth, housing conditions, local demographics, and local spending patterns drive decisions about where to build factories, open stores, locate jobs, and construct housing. ... Financial markets trade on macroeconomic releases, and investors rely on clear, confident signals from the Federal Reserve, which itself depends on trustworthy economic data." Trump may not realize that he's playing with fire by crowing about what could be an ephemeral gain in an obscure statistic. Many economists expect the initiatives he is pursuing to produce a slowdown in economic growth, or even a recession. Corporate executives' uncertainties about Trump's tariff policies have already stifled industrial planning, including decisions about when and where to build new factories. That won't be positive for wage growth, obviously. Do Trump or Bessent care? One would hope so, but the evidence that they do hasn't appeared anywhere but in this White House news release. If things turn sour, what will they have to brag about? Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
