Trump spins up a no-bad-news presidency
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Photo illustration: Lindsey Bailey. Photo: Jim Watson/Getty Images.
President Trump is accelerating his longtime efforts to banish facts and figures that challenge his narrative of a spotless presidency.
Why it matters: Much of the federal government has begun operating according to his version of reality.
In Trump's reality, good poll numbers are real (even when he invents them), bad ones are fake.
- Good job numbers are trumpeted, while bad ones — even from the same agency — are malicious attempts to discredit him.
- Accusations against Democrats are to be investigated and pursued. Accusations against him are witch hunts.
Zoom in: Trump fired the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics after last Friday's jobs figures, which were the most worrying economic data release of his term.
- Without giving specifics, he claimed the numbers were rigged to make him look bad, and said downward revisions for previous months' jobs figures were evidence of manipulation in the report.
The big picture: Trump hasn't acknowledged unpopular aspects of his agenda, even as polls indicate public support has dropped after this term's honeymoon.
- He claims sky-high approval ratings. But the RealClearPolitics polling average indicates he has been underwater since mid-March and currently sits at 46%.
- He touts the popularity of his "big, beautiful bill," and the White House plans a big push to sell the bill to voters during the run-up to the 2026 midterms. But polling suggests more than 50% oppose the signature legislation.
- His administration has proceeded with a maximalist approach to deportations even as public opinion has shifted to a pronounced moderate stance on the issue as immigration agents' tactics have gotten more aggressive.
The backstory: This all started 200 days ago. Trump heralded the return of a "Golden Age" for America in his inaugural address in January and has been quick to declare it a success rather than a work in progress.
- After months of pinning underwhelming data points on "Biden's economy," the White House last week declared the arrival of the "Trump Economy." Two days later, the bleak jobs report landed.
Between the lines: Even on issues where Trump has produced wins, his hyperbolic version of events has stretched reality.
- He claimed last week to have stopped six wars. The U.S. was involved in brokering agreements between Cambodia and Thailand as well as India and Pakistan, but the two biggest foreign policy quagmires — Gaza and Ukraine — have lingered.
- He has kept a lid on inflation, but also made outlandishly false claims about cutting drug prices by 1,500% and gas prices dropping to $2.
