On an unknown date, starting in 2017 through 2020, Trump’s pick to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), E.J. Antoni, under several usernames on Twitter, made sexually perverse remarks against former Vice President Kamala Harris, went on homophobic tirades, spread conspiracy theories, and slung unhinged insults against Trump’s opponents.
In 2019, the since-deleted account known as “ErwinJohnAntoni” changed its username to “phdofbombsaway.” The account posted at least five sexually suggestive tweets implying that then Sen. Kamala Harris had advanced her career through sexual favors.
Shortly after Harris ended her 2020 presidential campaign, Antoni wrote, “You can’t run a race on your knees,” in response to a tweet of a doctored campaign poster that depicted a sexually explicit image of Harris.
Antoni also referred to Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who accused Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, as “Miss Piggy.” In February 2020, he retweeted a post titled “Advice For Women: How To Land a Great Guy,” which instructed women to “be in shape,” “grow your hair long,” “be sweet,” “learn to cook,” and “don’t be annoying.” The post concluded: “Angry feminists and simps will try to sabotage you in the comments. Don’t listen to them. Listen to me.”
CNN Politics
The White House has since defended Antoni himself, without referencing his egregious behavior. The White House also did not disclose whether or not Antoni still holds such extreme, misogynistic beliefs.
CNN was able to ascertain that Antoni was quite a braggart. Using two display names, he repeatedly called himself an “economist.” He did so twice in March 2020 alone. In the summer of 2020, after changing his display name at least three times, he called himself an economist four times (thinking critically, do good or at least professional economists exhibit this behavior?).
His earlier behavior proved worse. In 2018, he tweeted that the “Trump Train” will “run over” those who refuse to “get on board.” Less abstractly and more heinously, when former Senator and war hero John McCain passed away in 2018, Antoni posted “I like a senator who doesn’t die.” Other samplings of Antoni’s online activity include falsely calling economist Paul Krugman, former President Joe Biden, and former Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) Director James Comey pedophiles (all three would almost certainly win a lawsuit against Antoni for such a smear), accusing Representative Ilhan Omar of incest without evidence, calling Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez an “antisemite” merely because she criticized Stephen Miller, targeting CNN hosts Anderson Cooper and Don Lemon for their sexuality, etc. The list of bigoted remarks, lies, and innuendo is almost endless.
On top of all of this, Antoni has posted Nazi imagery and has praised General Curtis LeMay, without seeming to understand the complex historical legacy of the man. His behavior, which is extreme even for most Trump-supporting Republicans, almost certainly implies some form of mental illness.
