Trump: "Phony" jobs report is now "real"

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics today reported that the economy added 235,000 jobs in February, and that the unemployment rate fell to 4.7%. President Trump touted these better-than-expected figures, even though he has dismissed such reports as a "joke" and a "hoax."

Sean Spicer was asked during today's press briefing if Trump still believes the BLS data is bogus. Spicer said that Trump asked to be quoted directly:

They may have been phony in the past but it's very real now.

VIDEO of Spicer quoting Trump on jobs reports: "They may have been phony in the past, but it's very real now." pic.twitter.com/ewpXW0n6uC — Axios (@axios) March 10, 2017

The Labor Department has not changed its process for collecting or analyzing jobs data since Trump took office.