Economy much better under Trump than Obama: Art Laffer

The fight between former President Obama and President Trump on claiming American economic prosperity has been heating up, but former Reagan economist Art Laffer declared the verdict is clear: President Trump caused the thriving Trump economy.

“Trump has caused the Trump economy and deserves all the credit for it,” Laffer told FOX Business' Stuart Varney on Tuesday. “His policies are right on mark ... and they really are his policies. President Trump understands the economy. Obama didn't.”

TRUMP CALLS OBAMA ECONOMIC BOOM BRAG 'CON JOB'

Obama inherited an economy on the rocks after the market crashed in 2008, and, Laffer said, he was able to bring it back, albeit slowly. What Americans are seeing now in the Trump economy, he said, is a “continuation and a surge ... that is second to none.”

“President Obama is a fine man, but he’s not an economist,” Laffer said.

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Laffer said the seven-year-long recovery under Obama was the slowest in history and now Americans are flourishing in the boom Trump created thereafter.

“This is the Goldilocks economy if I've ever seen one,” Laffer exclaimed. “And it's because President Trump understands economics ... You get the growth of the U.S. staying at very high rates. You get tax revenues coming in nicely. You keep inflation under control. I mean, what's more to ask?”

How well is the economy doing?

The average 401(k) did indeed hit a record last year, according to a review of 17.3 million accounts by Fidelity Investments. Surging markets around the world were a big reason for growth across accounts in 2019: The S&P 500 index had one of its best years in decades with a 31.5 percent return. Investments of all types logged gains, from junk bonds to stocks from developing economies.

Savings accounts and the stock market weren't the only areas doing well under Trump. Recent signs of strength in the U.S. economy have helped boost home sales, and U.S. manufacturing has shown signs of recovering from a year-long downturn

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Laffer credited the Trump administration for an economy that’s run “exceptionally competently” whereas Obama may not have been as well-served under his advisers.

Obama tweeted Monday his signing of the Recovery Act has paved way for “more than a decade of economic growth and the longest streak of job creation in American history.”

Trump tweeted out a rebuttal to what he considers the latest “con job.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.