I believe that the leadership and direction of this President has had a massive impact on this economy. It is things like this described in these two graphs from Leftist sources that have an impact, historic in its implementation:
That isn't an accident or inaction that caused that decrease in the Federal Register (which serves as a good proxy for bureaucratic overhead) in Trump's first full year in office. That was deliberate action and direction on his part.
His insistence on changing treaties and agreements that have been eminently unfair and one-sided against us (or withdrawing from them if they can't be changed, such as the Paris Climate Accord) is the mark of a businessman, especially one who understands business.
The tax breaks were done at his insistence and direction, which injected positive life into the economy.
His revitalization of the Energy sector in this country is his work, opening up coal mines and oil exploration, all of which were being dismantled, legislated against, and destroyed by the Obama Administration.
His use of the Bully Pulpit to talk up industry, has a revitalizing effect, not only on the industries themselves, but on Wall Street.
All this has been in concert with his direction, and can be contrasted in every aspect with an equally opposite negative impact deliberately pursued by the Obama Administration...the steady climb in the pages of the Federal Register (deliberate) the studied willingness to keep unfair treaties (because they helped everyone all over the globe except the USA) and engage in COMPLETELY offensive agreements like shipping pallets of money to Iran and the pursuit of the stupid Climate Change agenda, the opposition to tax breaks of any kind, the deliberate destruction of the energy sector, the talking down of American Industry and business on a world stage and promoting globalism that favors other countries, and general disparagement of profitable business in favor of non-profit organizations.
But most of all, it was the DELIBERATE repudiation of American leadership around the globe in everything from national security and strategy to industry. It was no accident, as Obama detested the idea of the United States as a strong global leader, as the image below shows:
I did read that execrable Washington Post article, both predictable in the source, and they way it did an immediate segue to the hate, intolerance, and fear being fostered (in their words) by the Trump Administration. The point you mentioned from the article about the 4.5 million jobs in the last 21 months of the Obama Administration is typical. By their OWN admission (elements within the Obama Administration themselves) the majority of those were low-level, service oriented admission level jobs, not serious industrial, skilled, or engineering jobs.