Allies of President Trump are heralding the first jobs report of his administration, touting its strong numbers as evidence that his pro-growth policies are already boosting the economy.
Trump, of course, was famously skeptical of the government’s jobs reports on the campaign trail. The reports, he argued, do not convey the “real” unemployment rate. As a candidate, he speculated that rate could actually be as high as 42 percent.
Still, after the release of Friday’s jobs report, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus lauded the government’s unemployment rate in a tweet reacting to the new numbers.
Rightfully anticipating a strong report this month, many have challenged Trump to be consistent in his response to the data. But the smartest reaction would not just be consistent, it would also refuse to run from the economic problems he spoke so effectively about as a candidate.
If these metrics did not accurately convey economic hardship before he took office, they do not accurately convey progress now.
The reasonably bleak, if not hyperbolic, picture of the American economy Trump depicted as a candidate for the presidency cannot have disappeared in two months. Trump voters who responded so positively to that rhetoric, interpreting it as proof that he understood their struggles, do not want another politician to gloss over that pain.
If he offers a reaction to the jobs report at all, the president should keep those people in mind.
Emily Jashinsky is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
