WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump is embracing numbers he once maligned as "phony" as he tries to take credit for the latest jobs report.
The new administration on Friday praised new Labor Department statistics that show U.S. employers added 235,000 jobs in February. The unemployment also rate dipped to a low 4.7 percent from 4.8 percent.
It was a jarring contrast from the campaign, when Trump denounced the stat as "one of the biggest hoaxes in modern politics."
Asked about the apparent disconnect, Press Secretary Sean Spicer was unapologetic.
He says, "They may have been phony in the past but they are very real now."
(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
