Trump's war on statistics risks leaving us all in the dark

 



In Donald Trump’s first term, he infamously used a black Sharpie to alter a hurricane forecast to support his claim that Alabama would be affected by the storm. It was not.

In his second term, he’s taking a black Sharpie to reality itself.

No longer held back by responsible advisers or members of Congress with any backbone, Trump has begun a war on any facts or data that don’t serve him, from economic statistics that make him look bad to crime data that doesn’t support his demand for power.

Once the gold standard of data, the U.S. government risks becoming as believable as Trump’s press secretary breathlessly praising his greatness.

This will hurt all of us, from doctors trying to keep people healthy to police seeking to keep them safe to business leaders looking to make tough decisions.

Trump has discovered a simple trick: If he doesn’t like the number, he changes it. He wants to “Sharpie” not just storms, but data about jobs, the economy and health. If he wants favorable ratings, he’ll choose pollsters who will deliver the answer he’s looking for. The number may look correct, but the methodology behind it is rigged.

Of course, that’s not how it works. Reality doesn’t bend to satisfy a wannabe tyrant’s ego. A poll stacked with supporters doesn’t reflect real public opinion, and unemployed workers don’t just disappear because you fudged the data.

For generations, federal statistics have been the compass by which Americans navigated storms, both literal and political. Data is the lifeblood of the federal government. The Bureau of Labor Statistics tells us whether the economy is growing or shrinking. The Census Bureau counts the population that determines political power and federal funding. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracks outbreaks and mortality rates, while the Environmental Protection Agency measures the pollutants in the air we breathe and the water we drink.

 

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