The White House's insistence that Americans not believe reporters or their own eyes didn't go over well from observers on Friday.
In a Facebook post, the White House repeated a familiar refrain: "Don't believe the fake news lies. The administration is driving positive change for AMERICAN workers."
Underneath the post, the administration included a graphic claiming that 2.5 million native-born Americans gained employment over the last year, while bragging that 670,000 foreign-born workers lost employment in that same time.
The same claim was included in a White House article from Nov. 20. Experts have smacked down the claim, with Jed Kolko, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute and senior advisor at the JPMC Institute, writing on his Substack that the claims are a "multiple-count data felony."
The figures are derived from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey counts of native‑born and foreign‑born employment over roughly a one‑year window.
Kolko’s analysis notes that about 1.2 million of the reported increase in native‑born employment comes purely from a January 2025 population adjustment, not actual job gains. He concluded that “native‑born employment has not soared” as the raw CPS suggests.
To boot, commenters on the White House page were similarly dubious, and flooded the post with mockery and derision.
"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain," chided Scott Carroll.
"Does this include hospitality, field work, or home construction jobs?" qusetioned Marcel Hickman.
"Including Melania?" wrote Daniel Urban.
"Let’s focus on results, not slogans," retorted Misikir Kebede Witness.
