Recently, the non-farm payroll data came out, and everyone was stunned—only 73,000 jobs were added in July, which is a big difference from the expected 102,000, and what's even more outrageous is that the data for May and June was revised down by 258,000! Now it's quite lively, and many people online are guessing: Is Powell and Trump performing a double act?

Actually, this matter is not that mysterious. First of all, the U.S. Department of Labor adjusts the data every month, just like we usually keep accounts; if we find a mistake, we correct it. It’s just that this time the revision was a bit harsh, directly cutting over two hundred thousand, which is indeed quite rare. But to say that this is Powell deliberately cooperating with Trump is underestimating the Federal Reserve. Recently, Powell has been singing a different tune from Trump; Trump is shouting every day, "Hurry up and cut interest rates," while Powell refuses to budge, infuriating Trump, who called him a "stubborn fool" on Twitter.

Moreover, if it were really a performance, then the act would be too fake. As soon as the data came out, the market immediately felt that the economy was not doing well, and the expectations for interest rate cuts skyrocketed. But what about the Federal Reserve? They still stand firm, saying, "We need to wait and see." This doesn’t look like cooperation at all; it seems more like they are intentionally going against Trump.

However, Trump is no pushover either; he directly fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and shouted that the data had been tampered with. This move frightened economists, and everyone is worried about whether the data can be trusted in the future. If even statistical data can be casually changed, how can we judge the economy's health later?

In my opinion, this time the data is so bad mainly because the economy really isn’t doing well. The trade war has caused companies to become cautious about hiring. Powell and Trump are now like one wanting to hit the brakes and the other wanting to step on the gas, completely unable to work together. So, the talk of "colluding in a performance" is just for fun; don't take it too seriously. However, if Trump keeps stirring things up, it's possible that one day the Federal Reserve really won't be able to withstand the pressure, and that could be problematic.