“This is way beyond anything that Richard Nixon ever did.”
So declared former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers with regards to President Donald Trump’s highly publicized firing of Dr. Erika McEntarfer, who leads the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The firing followed a revised jobs report, which had been updated to reflect additional data that emerged near the end of the quarter.
And while the debate over McEntarfer continues to rage, other longtime Trump critics have come out in full force.
Including Summers.
According to a report from The Hill, Summers issued his startling comparison of Trump and Nixon made an appearance on ABC News’s “This Week.”
“This is way beyond anything that Richard Nixon ever did. I’m surprised that other officials have not responded by resigning themselves as took place when Richard Nixon fired people lawlessly,” Summers asserted.
A rather dire comparison, to put it mildly.
Summers also insisted that the data could not have been manipulated, given its alignment with other economic reports.
“There’s no conceivable way that the head of the BLS could have manipulated this number. The numbers are in line with what we’re seeing from all kinds of private sector sources,” Summers continued.
Such an assertion would be strengthened by identifying a few specific private sector sources. However, Summers quickly moved from economics to politics.
And his political predictions were even direr.
“[This firing] is the stuff of democracies giving way to authoritarianism,” Summers mused.
Summers also noted that the White House’s threats against universities, newspapers, and specific law firms further exemplify a creeping approach towards authoritarianism.
An approach that may well upend the markets, per Summers.
“This is really scary stuff. And it can hardly be surprising that when the rule of law is a bit in question, that there’s a big uncertainty premium in the markets that is operating to both make there be less investment, which slows the economy down, and also means there’s less supply so that there’s more inflationary pressure,” Summers fearfully remarked.
One thing is for certain: Summers has long argued that Trump is “really scary.”
Summers was sounding off on all his fears back in 2016, several months before Trump decisively won against former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
“I think the prospect of Donald Trump being President would be the gravest threat to our prosperity, our security, and our freedom in my adult lifetime. That’s the thing I would worry most about,” Summers gravely intoned at the time.
Ironically, Trump himself has also referenced Nixon, albeit in a much more favorable manner.
Back in 2020, Trump stated that he had “learned a lot” from the controversial former president.
“I learned a lot from Richard Nixon – don’t fire people,” Trump remarked in an interview with the “Fox & Friends” program.
Clearly, Trump has fired more than one individual by his own admission, though he may well have been referring to not firing a specific type of individual in his past commentary.
In any case, Summers has long been leery of Trump, so his especially harsh criticism should not come as much of a surprise in light of that fact.
Author: Jane Jones
