March 2016: Trump Said He Could Get Rid Of The National Debt In Eight Years. According to a transcript of an interview of Trump by Bob Woodward in the Washington Post, “TRUMP: You look at our military budget, it’s massive compared to any other country. But what are we doing? We’re taking care of the military needs of all these countries. And these countries are much richer than us. We’re not a rich country. We’re a debtor nation. We’ve got to get rid of — I talked about bubble. We’ve got to get rid of the $19 trillion in debt. WOODWARD: How long would that take? TRUMP: I think I could do it fairly quickly, because of the fact the numbers . . . .WOODWARD: What’s fairly quickly? TRUMP: Well, I would say over a period of eight years.” [Washington Post, 4/2/16]
July 2018: Trump Said The 2017 Tax Cuts Would “Start Paying Off That Debt Like Water.” According to the Associated Press, “Trump, in a Friday interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity's radio show, said the strong economy would help the U.S. reduce the deficit. ‘The economy, we can go a lot higher ... We have $21 trillion in debt. When this really kicks in we'll start paying off that debt like water. We'll start paying that debt down.’” [Associated Press, 7/28/18]
Under Trump, The U.S. Recorded The Largest Annual Deficit In Its History. According to FactCheck.org, “Trump left office almost four months after the U.S. recorded its largest annual deficit of $3.1 trillion in fiscal year 2020.” [FactCheck.org, 10/8/21]
The Percentage Growth Of The National Deficit Under Trump Was The Third Largest For Any Administration, Behind Lincoln And George W. Bush. According to ProPublica, “The growth in the annual deficit under Trump ranks as the third-biggest increase, relative to the size of the economy, of any U.S. presidential administration, according to a calculation by a leading Washington budget maven, Eugene Steuerle, co-founder of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. And unlike George W. Bush and Abraham Lincoln, who oversaw the larger relative increases in deficits, Trump did not launch two foreign conflicts or have to pay for a civil war.” [ProPublica, 1/14/21]
Budget Deficits Under Trump Were Larger Than They Had Been Projected To Be At The Beginning Of His Administration. According to ProPublica, “That’s not how it played out. When Trump took office in January 2017, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office was projecting that federal budget deficits would be 2% to 3% of our gross domestic product during Trump’s term. Instead, the deficit reached nearly 4% of gross domestic product in 2018 and 4.6% in 2019.” [ProPublica, 1/14/21]
Trump Advisor Stephen Moore Said Trump Wanted To Make The 2017 Tax Cuts Permanent. According to ABC News, “Stephen Moore, who previously served as an economic adviser to Trump and says he has helped shape Trump's 2024 agenda, told ABC News that the tariff policies would hinder foreign producers and make domestic industries more competitive. […] The revenue generated by a sweeping set of tariffs would allow the Trump administration to reduce taxes for individuals and companies, the Trump campaign said in February. But the details of a tax cut proposal remain uncertain, Moore said. ‘This is all in motion,’ Moore added. ‘Nothing has been decided.’ Trump is committed, however, to extending the tax cuts signed into law during his first term when they begin to phase out in 2025, Moore added. ‘He clearly wants to make sure the tax rates don't go up as they're supposed to do if they let his tax plan expire,’ Moore said.” [ABC News, 1/6/24]
The Permanent Cuts Would Add $3.5 Trillion To The National Deficit. According to ABC News, “However, a recent report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, or CBO, said that making permanent the provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 would add $3.5 trillion to the nation's deficit. The U.S. currently holds roughly $31.4 trillion in debt. In a report in February, the CBO projected the federal debt will grow nearly $20 trillion by the end of 2033. ‘Extending the tax cuts would only worsen the already deep budget deficit problem that we're dealing with,’ Blinder said.” [ABC News, 1/6/24]
During The Trump Administration, The National Debt Grew By 50%, Or More Than $7 Trillion. According to FactCheck.org, “Rather, the amount the federal government has borrowed from the public went up by 50% during Trump’s time in office — from $14.4 trillion on the day he was inaugurated to $21.6 trillion the day his successor was sworn in.” [FactCheck.org, 10/8/21]
Trump Added Almost Twice As Much To The National Debt As Biden
Trump Added Almost Twice As Much To The National Debt As Biden Did. According to Axios, “Former President Trump ran up the national debt by about twice as much as President Biden, according to a new analysis of their fiscal track records. Why it matters: The winner of November's election faces a gloomy fiscal outlook, with rapidly rising debt levels at a time when interest rates are already high and demographic pressure on retirement programs is rising. Both candidates bear a share of the responsibility, as each added trillions to that tally while in office. But Trump's contribution was significantly higher, according to the fiscal watchdogs at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, thanks to both tax cuts and spending deals struck in his four years in the White House. By the numbers: Trump added $8.4 trillion in borrowing over a ten-year window, CRFB finds in a report out this morning. Biden's figure clocks in at $4.3 trillion with seven months remaining in his term. If you exclude COVID relief spending from the tally, the numbers are $4.8 trillion for Trump and $2.2 trillion for Biden.” [Axios, 6/24/24]
Debt As A Percentage Of The Economy Grew Under Trump By Almost 25%. According to FactCheck.org, “Likewise, the debt as a percentage of the economy also grew under Trump, rising from 76.2% of GDP in fiscal year 2016 to 100.1% of GDP in fiscal year 2020, according to figures from the Office of Management and Budget.” [FactCheck.org, 10/8/21]
New York Times: Trump Falsely Said He Had Been On Pace To Eliminate The Debt. According to the New York Times, “Mr. Trump framed his candidacy as a shield for the country from communism and Marxism and vowed to keep transgender athletes out of women’s sports. He falsely claimed that his administration had been on pace to eliminate the national debt — it grew by about $7.8 trillion during his administration and now stands at $31 trillion — and promised an economic plan that would rely mostly on tax cuts. ‘I am more angry now and I am more committed now than ever,’ Mr. Trump said in New Hampshire.” [New York Times, 1/28/23]
Trump’s Economic Proposals Could Increase The National Debt And Inflation In A Second Term. According to the New York Times, “Mr. Trump is suggesting tax cuts that could speed up the economy and add to the deficit, potentially boosting inflation and adding to the national debt at a time when it costs a lot for the government to borrow. He has talked about mass deportations at a moment when economists warn that losing a lot of would-be workers could cause labor shortages and push up prices. He promises to ramp up tariffs across the board — and drastically on China — in a move that might sharply increase import prices. And he has implied that interest rates would be much lower on his watch. That would be difficult for him to bring about because the Fed sets interest rates on its own and is insulated from the White House. But if Mr. Trump tried and found a way to successfully infringe upon the Fed’s independence and push down borrowing costs, it would risk reigniting growth and price increases.” [New York Times, 7/5/24]
Trump Signed Into Law Or Approved Via Executive Action More Spending In Four Years Than Obama Or George W. Bush Did In Eight. According to the Manhattan Institute, “President Trump signed legislation and approved executive actions costing $7.8 trillion over the decade—compared to $5.0 trillion for President Obama and $6.9 trillion for President Bush, and he enacted these costs in just a single four-year presidential term, compared to his predecessors’ eight years in the Oval Office. The largest drivers were pandemic relief legislation ($3.9 trillion), the 2017 tax cuts ($2.0 trillion), and legislation raising the discretionary spending caps ($1.6 trillion).” [Manhattan Institute, 5/12/22]
Trump’s Final Budget Proposal Was A Record $4.8 Trillion. According to the New York Times, “President Trump has proposed a record $4.8 trillion budget for the 2021 fiscal year, and while Congress decides what to fund, the document provides a window into the White House’s spending priorities.” [New York Times, 2/10/20]
Government Spending In Fiscal Year 2020 Was $6.5 Trillion, An Increase Of More Than $2 Trillion From The Prior Year. According to the Washington Post, “The deficit last year was about $1 trillion, which represented an elevated level but pales in comparison with this year’s tally. For 2020, the government spent $6.552 trillion, up from $4.447 trillion one year ago, according to the data released jointly by the White House and the Treasury Department. The government brought in $3.420 trillion in tax revenue this year, a slight decrease from 2019.” [Washington Post, 10/16/20]