For those who support the U.S. economy, there is much to like in the latest jobs report, released Friday morning. The data showed the economy creation of 272,000 jobs in May – much more than expected – as well as wage growth that continues to outpace inflation.
This all comes on the heels of 2023, which was arguably the best year for job creation in the United States. since the late 1990s.
In fact, the closer you look, the better the numbers get. More than 1.2 million jobs have been created so far this year, and if this pace continues, the United States will see about 3 million new jobs this year, which is extraordinary. According to the latest data, U.S. job growth in the first five months of 2024 is better than in the first five months of any year of the Trump presidency.
At a campaign rally in Nevada yesterday, presumptive Republican nominee insistedwith apparent sincerity: “One hundred percent of new jobs went to illegal aliens. »
The reality, of course, tells a very different storybut at least trump said something. What have we heard from GOP leaders on Capitol Hill? Consistent with the recent trend, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Mike Johnson responded to the jobs numbers by saying literally nothing about the good news. No press releases, no tweets and no public comments.
It seems the US job market is so good that Republicans are literally left speechless – again.
Let’s return to our prior coverthis was not at all new: GOP leadership in both chambers has spent almost the entire Biden era pretend not to notice extraordinarily good job growth.
(For its part, the Republican National Committee published A declaration who claimed the latest jobs report was “miserable,” which is only true for those who oppose the U.S. economy.)
The importance of the political implications should be obvious. Economic growth is healthy; economic confidence increases; the stock market is rising; wages increase; the job market seems in great shape; and the United States knows the best in the world post-pandemic recovery. If Republicans talked about it, voters might hear about it — and if voters heard about it, Democrats might reap electoral rewards.
The Republican Party’s silence aims to distance public debate from good news that could interfere with Republicans’ election-year strategies.
But part of the party’s plan included attacking Democrats on the economy, which Politico said reported in February, the situation was suddenly more difficult than Republican Party officials had hoped.
Stephen Moore of the Heritage Foundation, who is closely tied to the Trump campaign, told Politico at the time: “I think that’s the question of the day. You can’t blame the president when policy goes wrong and then say he’s not responsible if things go well.”
If recent history is anything to go by, Republicans will simply pretend things are happening. are not going right, ask voters to believe their version of…
