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White House Gets Dragged for Tone Deaf Tweet About How Great the Unemployment Rate Was 'Two Months Ago'
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
One of the few bright spots for President Donald Trump's tenure in the White House has been the strong, growing economy he inherited from President Barack Obama.
While Trump blew up the deficit and saw huge fluctuations on Wall Street, for the most part the economy and unemployment numbers stayed on the same upward climb begun by the Obama administration after the sharp economic downturn during the presidency of George W. Bush.
With the 2020 presidential election just 178 days away, the Trump administration is making every effort to highlight the positives. However a tweet pointing out the unemployment rate in the midst of a global pandemic that has infected 1.31 million people the United States and killed 77,727 of them was received badly.
The post was made Friday morning by the Twitter account of the President's White House Council of Economic Advisors.
While April’s jobs numbers may astound Americans, the strong economy earlier this year put us in a better position… https://t.co/2IXUQTRiJt— CEA (@CEA) 1588944628.0
The post received almost immediate pushback.
@WhiteHouseCEA Yes, as the Second Great Depression falls upon us we should take great comfort in the fact that the… https://t.co/46FuuLPFUJ— Paul Jacobson (@Paul Jacobson) 1588949632.0
@WhiteHouseCEA Out of curiosity, how does your cubic model account for job losses resulting from business bankruptcies?— Pé (@Pé) 1588948132.0
Many pointed out that unlike his predecessor, Trump inherited a strong economy on an upswing.
@WhiteHouseCEA Good point, if Obama hadn’t built a economy that constantly grew for a record 10 years straight, Tru… https://t.co/CLA50tYV14— Kat Bjelland Death Scream (@Kat Bjelland Death Scream) 1588948328.0
@WhiteHouseCEA And it was far better under Obama.— Roslyn Metchis (@Roslyn Metchis) 1588947266.0
@Roslynbooks @WhiteHouseCEA Whom was able to stop two pandemics from destroying the United States of America and le… https://t.co/3xfcmCPOBt— SilenceDoGood (@SilenceDoGood) 1588947587.0
@MarinoGoose @4everNeverTrump @WhiteHouseCEA Lol... It’s going to be a sight to behold to watch him recreate what… https://t.co/fLUYO6UBsD— 💜✨ ђгђ๏гςђเ๔✨💜 (@💜✨ ђгђ๏гςђเ๔✨💜) 1588959119.0
Some offered alternate takes on their message...
@WhiteHouseCEA “We were GIVEN an economy that had been on a pretty good roll for 7 years, and it only took us 3 yea… https://t.co/DtHlOunet1— Roberto (@Roberto) 1588948153.0
@Big_Boofy9923 @WhiteHouseCEA we suck, we blew it, we are corrupt we need 4 more years to complete they destructio… https://t.co/5kN7BKxdAK— sam (@sam) 1588948520.0
...including similar messaging for other tragedies and disasters.
@WhiteHouseCEA While it is true that Abe is currently fighting for his life, let’s remember that he had previously… https://t.co/tZvQypahCd— Matt Wilt (@Matt Wilt) 1588948398.0
@WhiteHouseCEA OJ Simpson may have murdered his ex-wife, but remember when he was the only player to ever rush for… https://t.co/D5FWyUdhzO— Ryan Zamarripa (@Ryan Zamarripa) 1588947170.0
@WhiteHouseCEA while it's current position might be described as "at the bottom of the ocean", the titanic was in a… https://t.co/PJt6HH7CI0— matt lurrie (@matt lurrie) 1588947989.0
@WhiteHouseCEA That’s like saying a patient had great health two months prior to dying of COVID-19.— Reaper0Bot0 (@Reaper0Bot0) 1588948101.0
@WhiteHouseCEA So true. Also, the 76,000 Americans who have died of COVID-19 were alive before they got the virus— Daniel Rubin (@Daniel Rubin) 1588948468.0
@WhiteHouseCEA There is no plan. That’s all. Have a good day. That could’ve been your tweet.— Aaron Riley (@Aaron Riley) 1588945159.0
People called the post pure propaganda.
@WhiteHouseCEA Even is this wasn't the worst propaganda fail since Baghdad Bob, Trump squandered our sacrifice by f… https://t.co/uMhSzk0Izg— NC "Facebook Delenda Est" Steve (@NC "Facebook Delenda Est" Steve) 1588950893.0
@WhiteHouseCEA Did Putin write this?— Fred Guttenberg (@Fred Guttenberg) 1588958446.0
@fred_guttenberg @WhiteHouseCEA 'course he did— AZZZZONIE (@AZZZZONIE) 1588958514.0
@WhiteHouseCEA My tax dollars are paying for this propaganda...— d_mcc (@d_mcc) 1588952990.0
The message from most commenters was not the glowing praise for President Trump that they probably wanted.
Many had specific criticisms over how the Trump administration handled their pandemic response.
@WhiteHouseCEA Coulda, shoulda, woulda. The White House failed to use the last three months wisely. They could have… https://t.co/7jvzyd8dG0— Camaron (@Camaron) 1588946157.0
@molly_knight @WhiteHouseCEA @realDonaldTrump took the best economy ever left to a president by @BarackObama and cu… https://t.co/lIc3gTAEQ8— Joseph Iacovella (@Joseph Iacovella) 1588949968.0
@WhiteHouseCEA grandma's last memories were of low unemployment 😎😎😎😎— slosifl (@slosifl) 1588947533.0
@WhiteHouseCEA https://t.co/8ufp7BwpFR— Doc_Moulton (@Doc_Moulton) 1588948207.0
@WhiteHouseCEA Only two months ago, 28 Americans had died of COVID-19. Now it is over 75,000. By the end of May,… https://t.co/ggMObsRVBC— Rob Pollard (@Rob Pollard) 1588946846.0
@robpollard45 @WhiteHouseCEA But hey, that's 75,000 people Not on unemployment! Jeez, even knowing I was typing it… https://t.co/WXb6bCkKZP— Me 🏳️🌈 (@Me 🏳️🌈) 1588948901.0
As the 2020 presidential election nears, President Trump can only hope voters focus on his one bright spot and not all the scandals, resignations, indictments, impeachment and deaths that happened on his watch. But if this post is any indication, it looks like that is wishful thinking.
The book Hiding in Plain Sight: The Invention of Donald Trump and the Erosion of America is available here.