Robert Shiller, Professor of Economics at Yale University, admits he is “nervous" about Donald Trump, but said there's no doubt the president-elect's personality has ignited widespread excitement about future prosperity.
"Sometimes that nervousness can go along with optimism," the Yale professor told CNBC.
"I didn't vote for Trump. So we've got him. Let's hope for the best. He might do something good."
Shiller said the nation has "never had a president" like Trump. His whole persona is "live big, live large" and that's aspirational for many Americans, Shiller said.
The term "animal spirits," the title of the 2009 book co-authored by Shiller, is used to describe the intangibles that psychologically drive excitement on Wall Street or in a particular sector, such as housing.
Shiller, co-creator of the S&P Case/Shiller home prices index, said Trump is a "motivational speaker" with a "tremendous self-confidence" that's contagious.
"We're going to see big changes," predicted Shiller.
Shiller said the economy that President Barack Obama is leaving for Trump looks "strong," though largely on the back of historically low rates by the Federal Reserve, which raised the cost of borrowing for only the second time in a decade in December.
Other respected economic voices are more certain that Trump will truly indeed "Make America Great Again."
Veteran financial guru Larry Kudlow, who served as the Trump campaign's senior economic adviser, predicts to Newsmax TV that the record-setting stock rally “may go on for years” because the market “likes what it sees” before the president-elect has even officially taken office.
Stocks could drop in a natural turn of events, but for the most part, get ready for more record-high stock-market finishes, he recently told Steve Malzberg on “America Talks Live.”
“The Trump rally may go on for years,” said Kudlow, a Newsmax Finance Insider, radio talk-show host and CNBC senior contributor.
“It's not going to go on uninterrupted, but the market is telling you it likes what it sees regarding new economic policies to help business and to help growth and help jobs,” said Kudlow — host of "The Larry Kudlow Show" and author of "JFK and the Reagan Revolution: A Secret History of American Prosperity," written with Brian Domitrovic and published by Portfolio.
(Newsmax wire services contributed to this report).
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