Republicans in the House and Senate helped Trump add trillions of dollars in debt that will depress the economy for years without calling for cuts.
In January 2021, ProPublica reported:
The national debt has increased by nearly $7.8 trillion during Trump’s tenure. That’s nearly twice what Americans owe in student loans, car loans, credit cards and all other types of debt except mortgages, combined, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. It amounts to about $23,500 in new federal debt for every person in the country.
The annual deficit growth under Trump ranks as the third largest increase, relative to the size of the economy, of any US presidential administration.
It’s easy to confuse debt and deficit, so keep in mind that deficit is the monthly or annual amount the government must borrow. The debt is the cumulative amount owed by the nation throughout its history.
Looking back now, the headlines here at PoliticianUSA were astonishing. Trump and Republicans increased the monthly deficit by 66% from May to June 2018. In August 2018, Trump and House Republicans created a deficit twice the size of any month in the previous year.
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Kevin McCarthy and many of the same House Republicans now calling for spending cuts ran these deficits and added to the debt without asking Trump for cuts in return. The big driver was Trump/Republicans’ $1.9 trillion tax cuts for the wealthy. Most of Trump’s debt ($4.8 trillion) was incurred pre-COVID. Republicans added more than a trillion dollars a year to the debt through tax cuts and increased spending before the pandemic hit, and now they have the nerve to demand cuts from Biden.
Republicans are asking Biden and the American people to pay a significant portion of the bills they incurred by cutting taxes on the wealthy and businesses with cuts to programs like Medicare and Social Security.
President Biden is on the right track in saying no to the Republican Chamber’s demands for spending cuts. Under Trump, House Republicans raised the debt ceiling without offsetting the cuts three times over.
If House Republicans want to generate revenue to cover the rising debt ceiling, they can start raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations and clearing their deficits and debt.
Jason is the editor in chief. He is also a White House Press Pole and a congressional correspondent for PoliticianUSA. Jason has a bachelor’s degree in political science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
