The Atlantic

Donald Trump Says '96 Million' Are Looking for Work

The president-elect’s dark talent for bizarro sound bites warps the media’s discussion of the country’s most critical issues.
Source: Shannon Stapleton / Reuters

Donald Trump’s first press conference as president-elect will be best-remembered for his jeering at the press and vague dismissals of financial and ethical impropriety. But buried inside the taunting and dissembling was a Trump moment that stands out as a kind of microcosmic footnote—subtle yet representative of his ability to scramble the news cycle with simple falsehoods.

“Right now, there are 96 million [people] wanting a job and they can't get [one],” he said. “You know that story. The real number. That's the real number."

No. That’s not “the real number.”

This is a perfect

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