Trump Celebrates Unexpected Drop in Unemployment Rate as Both the Pandemic and Protests Continue

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President Donald Trump celebrated after the Department of Labor (DOL) released a jobs report showing an unexpected drop in the unemployment rate. The United States added 2.5 million jobs during the month of May as businesses began to reopen. Additionally, the unemployment rate dropped to 13.3 percent from 14.7 percent in April.

The president, who has often touted a “strong” economy he credits to his administration’s fiscal policy, issued several tweets after the jobs report was released.

Really Big Jobs Report. Great going President Trump (kidding but true)!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2020

THESE NUMBERS ARE INCREDIBLE! @MariaBartiromo

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2020

I am so stunned. I’ve never seen numbers like this and I’ve been doing this for 30 years! Steve M. @MariaBartiromo

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2020

This is an AMAZING JOBS REPORT! Edward Lawrence @FoxNews

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2020

The president announced he’d host a press conference to discuss the jobs report.

I will be doing a News Conference at 10:00 A.M. on the Jobs Numbers! White House.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2020

Trump’s glee comes even though the widest swath of unemployment seen since the Great Depression has been largely attributed to his administration’s inaction. The Washington Post revealed in April that he was warned about the coronavirus pandemic as early as January but ignored intelligence briefings, costing the country valuable time it could have used to prepare for the shockwave.

The news comes at the end of a week eventful even for Trump as protests against racial injustice and police brutality continue across the nation in response to the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis.