Sarah Sanders' Claim About Obama's Black Job Creation Was Way Off

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders says President Donald Trump has already created three times as many jobs for black Americans as former President Barack Obama did his entire eight years in office.

That's not true.

In a press conference Tuesday, Sanders said about Trump: "In the year and a half that he's been here, he's created 700,000 new jobs for African-Americans. ... When President Obama left, after eight years in office, he had only created 195,000 jobs for African-Americans."

But according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, only the first part of that statement is accurate. Obama added 3 million jobs held by African-Americans by the time he left office. And Bloomberg points out Trump also inherited a growing economy from President Obama.

Sanders' statement was part of a defense against claims by former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman that Trump made racist statements. Sanders called those claims false.

After the press conference, the White House Council of Economic Advisers acknowledged Sanders' numbers were wrong and tweeted: "Apologies for @WhiteHouseCEA's earlier miscommunication to [Sanders]."

Additional reporting by Newsy affiliate CNN.