On June 28th, I published a blog post with the following headline: "The Truth? The Truth Is What I Say It Is!" In that past blog posting, I commented on an assertion by our current president that the United States' attack on Iran's nuclear weapons facilities had "obliterated" them. According to some seemingly credible reports from others, that might not have actually been true.
I noted that "what our current president is asserting is that HE (and he alone) decides the "truth," and that if HE says something, that's the truth (because HE said it)." I ended that June 28th blog posting with the following question: "Does that assertion make you trust our current president more, or less?"
Well, recent news reports indicate that Mr. Trump really does think that he establishes "reality" by his own public claims. On Sunday, August 2, 2025, The New York Times ran a front-page story on our president's decision to fire the Commissioner of Labor Statistics. As it turns out, she made a report, based on monthly jobs data, showing weak hiring in July. The Times reported that "economists widely interpreted the report as evidence that Mr. Trump's policies were beginning to take a toll on the economy."
Not only did our current president deny the truth of this official report, he called it "rigged," and immediately fired the Commissioner, Erika McEntarfer." I am tempted to ask, again, does this make you trust our current president more, or less? Let me, though, answer this question myself (news reports indicate that others are coming to the same conclusion that I have).
If our current president intends to insist that the meaning of official numbers - documenting accurate information gathered by our government, pursuant to the law - must be held to mean only what HE says they mean - then NO ONE is going to believe government reports. As a consequence, it will become difficult, if not impossible, for the government to react properly to changes in conditions. When, for instance, job statistics indicate that the economy is "cooling" - but our current president denies that - then the government will not be able to decide to deal with respect to the actual reality we confront. In other words, the government will be handicapped, and will not be able to make the right decisions, because the government won't accept the realities facing the nation.
If we are heading into a recession, but the president says we're not, it is most likely that the government won't deal with a potential recession, but will let it get worse, all the while hearing from the president that things are just jolly.
This is a prescription for governmental failure.
Thank you, Mr. President!
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