Bulwark Takes Trump’s Economic Numbers Don’t Add Up
Nov 23, 2025
Catherine Rampell, an astute opinion writer and economist, joins Bill Kristol to dissect the puzzling state of the economy. They tackle missing government economic data and the risks of relying on imperfect private statistics. Rampell highlights the struggles facing young workers amid a K-shaped recovery, while also critiquing the administration's selective economic messaging. They ponder the uncertainties surrounding tariffs, Fed independence, and the implications for inflation. Plus, discussions on holiday shopping trends promise to keep listeners engaged!
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Government Data Is Being Eroded
- The Trump administration is systematically degrading government data by purging staff, defunding agencies, and canceling reports.
- This data erosion risks vacuums that private firms cannot fully fill and enables political actors to push misleading numbers.
Private Data Can't Replace Benchmarks
- Private data can help but government statistics are the gold standard used to benchmark and weight private datasets.
- Without reliable public benchmarks, private metrics can be cherry-picked and misinterpreted by policymakers.
Cherry-Picked Retail Data Misleads
- The administration has selectively cited retail and corporate promotions (e.g., Walmart bundles, DoorDash) to claim falling prices.
- Those examples are misleading because they don't represent broad, apples-to-apples economic measures.