According to Mars Finance, on August 8, the University of Chicago conducted a poll of 46 American economists this week, of which 38 stated there is no evidence that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) employment data is biased towards the Republican or Democratic Party. Many economists claim that Trump's attacks on U.S. economic data agencies pose a serious threat to official statistics. Last Friday, Trump ordered the dismissal of the BLS director (the agency that releases non-farm data), after he claimed without evidence that disappointing employment data was 'manipulated.' The agency later confirmed that director Erika McEntarfer was fired, and her deputy William Wiatrowski would serve as acting director. Trump had claimed that the Bureau of Labor Statistics exaggerated employment figures last year to help the Democrats during the presidential election. However, the agency adjusted the numbers downward by more than 800,000 in August 2024, an action that was seen at the time as a blow to the Democrats. Despite the BLS suffering from staff shortages, funding gaps, and reduced survey responses, former statisticians and economists say that manipulating data is actually very difficult. Anil Kashyap from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business stated, 'If you have any understanding of how these numbers are constructed, you would know that successfully manipulating them requires a huge conspiracy.' Nancy Stokey from the University of Chicago said, 'Trump’s action to fire the BLS director will only harm the reputation of the United States.'