'Massive scandal': Trump levies dubious claims against foes in Truth Social tirade

Donald Trump barraged Truth Social with questionable claims and baseless accusations against political foes in a series of posts published Wednesday in under 10 minutes.

In his initial post at 11:39 a.m. ET, Trump accused President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris of manipulating job statistics to present a rosier picture of the U.S. economy than was truthful.

"MASSIVE SCANDAL," Trump wrote . "New Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the Administration PADDED THE NUMBERS with an extra 818,000 Jobs that DO NOT EXIST, AND NEVER DID."

A preliminary annual benchmark review of employment data — which will not be finalized until February — suggested there were 818,000 fewer jobs in March 2024 of this year than were initially reported, CNN reported Wednesday.

"However, job growth was still historically strong," CNN reported.

Chris Rupkey, chief economist at FwdBonds, added, “The economy apparently did not need those phantom ‘lost’ workers, because robust real consumer expenditures powered very strong [economic] growth in the second half of last year.”

The CNN report does not suggest any data had been manipulated and noted "economic data is revised often — especially as more comprehensive information becomes available."

This did not stop Trump from asserting a Harris victory would spell economic doom for the nation.

"The real Numbers are much worse than that and, if Comrade Kamala gets another four years, millions more Jobs will VANISH overnight, and Inflation will completely destroy our Country," Trump wrote. "YOUR LIFE SAVINGS WILL BE WIPED OUT. With a TRUMP VICTORY, we will once again have the Greatest Economy in History."

Meanwhile, several economists have warned Trump's promise to end utility and gas inflation would be "extremely dangerous" to the economy and could trigger a massive recession.

Trump's concluding post focused on protests circulating around the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week.

"So disgraceful to see the burning of the American Flag and the desecration of Police Cars at the Democrat’s 'Party' taking place in Chicago," Trump wrote at 11:47 ET. "Five people have been killed since the start of their 'Convention.' CONGRESS SHOULD IMMEDIATELY GET TO WORK! ANYONE BURNING THE AMERICAN FLAG GETS ONE YEAR IN JAIL. JUST DO IT!!!"

A flag was burned outside the convention, but Raw Story was unable to locate a report on police car vandalism.

Trump's insinuation that deaths in Chicago were linked to the Democratic National Convention does not stand up to reported fact.

While ABC News reported that more than 70 pro-Palestine protesters were arrested outside the Israeli Consulate Tuesday night, there is no mention of homicide.

Meanwhile, a Chicago Sun Times databank of city homicides shows six men have died by gun violence since the convention began on Monday.

Trump has repeatedly claimed crime has spiked under President Joe Biden's administration, despite data that show homicide rates are currently lower in Biden's last year than they were in Trump's and crime in a key swing state has since dropped.

For their part, Democrats such as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg cast crime blame on Republican policies regarding the weapon used in each of the six Chicago homicides thus far this week.

Buttigieg said in a Fox News interview, "Why would we elect leaders who won't do anything about gun violence?"

In two more posts, Trump accused Harris of destroying San Francisco and shared a picture of a tattoo depicting the assassination attempt against his life which he described as the "hottest."

"THE HOTTEST TATTOO," Trump wrote. "MY HONOR!"