Candidate Trump Decried the National Debt in 2016 and Promised to Eliminate It. It’s Only Gotten Bigger.

Jul 6, 2023 | POLICY

On Trump’s first day in office (Jan. 20, 2017), the total U.S. debt stood at $19.95 trillion, up from the 11.9 trillion when Barack Obama was sworn in eight years earlier. As of Oct. 14, the debt under Trump had mushroomed to $27.1 trillion.

USA Today