A Republican Party social media post on Friday aimed at promoting American manufacturing has drawn ridicule online after users identified the car featured in the image as a presumably Soviet-made Lada, not a product of the US auto industry.

The image, posted to the party’s official account on X, shows US President Donald Trump standing in front of a bright yellow sedan. The caption reads: “A Big Beautiful Bill will help bring back the great American car,” referencing legislation recently signed by Trump to extend tax cuts and promote domestic automobile production.

But online commentators quickly noticed the car was no symbol of Detroit. “That’s a Soviet VAZ-2101, better known as a Lada 1200,” read one top comment, accompanied by laughing emojis. Others chimed in with jabs like “Make Lada Great Again” and “Bringing Soviet prosperity to a decaying America.”

Auto experts confirmed the mistake. “That car is either a Lada 2101 or a Fiat 124 — and certainly not American,”said Artem Bobtsov, speaking to RBK on Saturday. “The Fiat 124 was the model the Soviets used to build their first Zhiguli, so it’s possible the image features either. But what’s clear is that it isn’t American-made.”

RBK suggests the image may have come from a European stock photo database. Auto analyst Maxim Kadakov noted, “This car appears to be registered in Hungary. It’s likely the designers just grabbed a rusted-out old photo from the internet to avoid copyright issues with American manufacturers.”

The post was meant to celebrate Trump’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill,” a sweeping tax and spending law passed in July. The legislation includes tax breaks for Americans buying US-assembled vehicles and cuts to federal spending. However, critics — including Tesla boss Elon Musk — say it will balloon the federal deficit and national debt. Musk warned the bill could push the deficit to $2.5 trillion.

While the Republican Party has not deleted the post, the online reaction has been scathing. “I didn’t know Lada had a factory in the US,” wrote one user. “Will there be a new trade deal with Russia next?”

https://www.rt.com/news/622414-republicans-trump-lada-photo/

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US President Donald Trump dismissed Erika McEntarfer, commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), on Friday, claiming that the latest employment figures had been rigged against him. The dismissal followed weaker-than-expected July hiring numbers and significant downward revisions for May and June.

Trump alleged in a Truth Social post that the employment figures issued this week had been deliberately manipulated to harm him politically, describing them as “RIGGED” to make Republicans and himself “look bad.” “I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump posted later on Friday, asserting McEntarfer, would be replaced by someone “much more competent and qualified.”

A BLS spokesperson confirmed that McEntarfer “was terminated,” and Deputy Commissioner William Wiatrowski will take over on an acting basis.

July jobs report showed just 73,000 jobs added, with revisions revealing 258,000 fewer jobs overall in May and June. The unemployment rate rose slightly, to 4.2%.

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer supported Trump’s decision to replace McEntarfer, emphasizing the importance of making sure “the American People can trust” BLS data. Republican Senator Roger Marshall, who had previously questioned McEntarfer’s job statistics, also praised the move. Marshall stated on X that her “cooked-up numbers have misled the American people for too long.”

Economists, however, expressed concern about the firing, with Arin Dube warning on X that it “threatens to destroy trust in core American institutions and all government statistics.”

A bipartisan group, including former BLS commissioners William Beach, appointed by Trump, and Erica Groshen, named to the post by former President Barack Obama, condemned McEntarfer’s firing. The rationale “undermines the credibility of federal economic statistics,” they said in a statement.

Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer also criticized Trump’s decision: “What does a bad leader do when they get bad news? Shoot the messenger.”

The monthly jobs report significantly impacts financial markets, which fell about 1.5% following the announcement. Trump hasn’t always been skeptical of these reports—when May data was first released in June showing 139,000 jobs added, he posted: “GREAT JOB NUMBERS, STOCK MARKET UP BIG!” That figure was later revised down to 125,000, then sharply, to just 19,000.

https://www.rt.com/news/622406-trump-fires-statistics-official/

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