Trump showcases economist Arthur Laffer’s speech praising him as ‘greatest president in history’

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump posted a message on Truth Social on Saturday, December 13, highlighting the praise he had received from economist Arthur Laffer, a prominent conservative thinker closely associated with supply-side economics.

Trump said that Laffer had described him as "the greatest president in history," while also crediting him with endorsing the effectiveness of tariffs. The post drew attention to Trump's ongoing emphasis on economic messaging and support from longtime allies. 

Questions over the remarks and Arthur Laffer's public comments 

Donald Trump wrote that Laffer, whom he described as "Ronald Reagan's economic 'whiz,'" made the comments during a speech the previous night.

“Wow! The great Art (Arthur) Laffer, Ronald Reagan’s economic 'whiz’, and highly respected by all, said in a speech last night that, ‘Donald Trump is the greatest president in history, bar none,'” Trump wrote in his post.

He added, “Such an honor coming from a man of such wisdom. Also, he said that, ‘Tariffs are working in a big way.’ Our Country is rich and admired again!"

Searches of publicly available records of Laffer's appearances from Friday night did not immediately confirm the wording cited in Trump's post. 

An inquiry posted to X and answered by the platform's artificial intelligence tool 'Grok' stated that no confirmation of the specific speech or quotes could be found. 

However, Laffer has repeatedly offered strong praise for Trump in past interviews.

In an interview with Axios in April, Laffer described Trump as "a great negotiator" and called him "the single best president of his lifetime."

Laffer, widely known as the "father of supply-side economics," served as an informal adviser during Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and influenced the campaign's tax policy proposals. 

Trump awarded Laffer the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2019, underscoring the close relationship between the two. Laffer has been a frequent public defender of Trump's economic record since leaving office. 

Economic praise alongside past criticism of tariffs 

More recently, Laffer appeared in a Politico article examining conservative economists' assessments of the US economy.

In that piece, Laffer suggested Trump's self-assigned economic grade of "A++++" should be interpreted loosely, saying Trump should be taken "seriously" but "not literally."

He nevertheless added, "the economy is damn good."

Laffer continued in the same interview, “triple plus plus plus, I don’t know of the words. But I think he’s done a great job, and I expect it to be a very positive next couple of years.”

Laffer had also previously expressed concerns about tariffs but warned that protectionist trade policies could harm economic growth.

“I don’t know how anyone looking at the facts could argue that protectionism doesn’t create downturns,” Laffer told Axios.

“The more protectionism there is, the greater the downturn. Reducing tariffs and protectionism causes a boom in the economy,” he added.