‘a Gentleman’s C’: Some Conservative Economists Quibble With Trump’s ‘a+++++’ Grade Of Economy

President Donald Trump gives his economy an “A+++++.”

Some conservative economists — and Trump allies — aren’t as bullish.

The president gave himself those top marks earlier this week at the White House in an interview with POLITICO’s Dasha Burns as cost of living concerns have become a persistent liability for the GOP. Trump’s response reflects his impulse to downplay affordability problems and insist the economy is strong, even as White House officials and Republican lawmakers say the issue must be addressed head on.

“I don’t see things as great at all. I don’t even see it as an A,” said one former senior administration official — who still holds close ties with the White House — granted anonymity to speak candidly.

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, chief economist on former President George W. Bush's Council of Economic Advisers and later director of the Congressional Budget Office, told West Wing Playbook he would give Trump’s economy “a gentleman’s C.”

“Fair growth, not great labor market, inflation problem — it’s hard to get an A+++ out of that,” he added.

The dissonance comes at a delicate moment for the Republican Party, which has been stung by a series of election losses and underperformances that many have tied to persistent concerns over the cost of living and voter anger that the president hasn’t done more to address their bottom line.

Trump has spent the last several months bashing the issue of affordability as a “hoax” constructed by Democrats and the media — and on Tuesday, he took that messaging on the road. In a 97-minute speech at a Pennsylvania casino, he mocked the word “affordability” and that he’s no longer “allowed” to say it, then veered into an anti-immigration tirade.

But a majority of Americans, including many Trump supporters, say the strain on their wallets is real — concerns that are reflected in government data, which show prices rose 3 percent over the 12 months ending in September. And 46 percent of respondents to The POLITICO Poll, released last week, blamed Trump and his administration for those higher costs.

Trump’s unwillingness to acknowledge those economic woes stems from a lack of candid information he is receiving from those in his administration, the former official said.

“This really points to a challenge the president has, which is he's not getting a good flow of information,” the person said. “If a problem in term one was too many people telling the president, ‘You can't do that.’ Now, the problem is people only want to tell him what he wants to hear.”

White House spokesperson Kush Desai stressed that the entire administration has been focused on affordability in the last 10 months.

“Every Trump administration official has been playing their part over the past year to deliver on this priority, from slashing costly regulations to securing historic drug pricing deals — efforts that have cooled inflation and raised real wages,” Desai said. “Much work remains, but President Trump is highlighting the meaningful progress that his Administration has made and will continue to make to turn [former President] Joe Biden’s economic disaster around.”

Arthur Laffer, the author of “Reaganomics" and “Trumponomics” and father of supply-side economics, said Trump should be taken “seriously” but “not literally” when he gives himself a grade on the economy. But “the economy is damn good,” he added.

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