David Jackson

USA TODAY

While candidate Trump questioned the validity of the monthly reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the new president welcomed Friday's better-than-expected report showing that the economy added 235,000 jobs last month.

"I talked to the president prior to this and he said to quote him very clearly," Trump spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters. "'They may have been phony in the past, but it's very real now.'"

Spicer and Trump both tweeted about the jobs report shortly after it was released — an apparent violation of a federal rule that forbids public officials from commenting within an hour of the release.

Spicer said the rule was designed to address potential market fluctuations based on an analysis of the jobs numbers.

"I apologize if we're a little excited," Spicer said.

Trump's tweet: a retweet of the Drudge Report's proclamation of "GREAT AGAIN."

Spicer's tweet:

They weren't alone in their excitement.

Contributing: Jessica Estepa