Pressed to address his firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Dr. Erika McEntarfer, Trump once again insisted that she had been putting out false labor statistics to make him look bad but struggled to answer tough questions about the ordeal.
“I think their numbers were wrong, just like I thought our numbers were wrong before the election. Days before the election, she came out with these beautiful numbers for Kamala … and she came out with these beautiful numbers trying to get somebody else elected,” he told reporters.
He said more of the same when a reporter asked how, if this is the case, any numbers coming out of his administration could be trusted.
“We’re doing so well. I believe the numbers were phony, just like they were before the election,” he continued. “And there were other times. So you know what I did? I fired her, and you know what I did? The right thing.”
When asked if all government officials should fear for their jobs if they have negative news to report, Trump just repeated more of the same lines accusing McEntarfer of malfeasance without offering any evidence.
The White House also put out a release detailing specific accusations against the fired commissioner.