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Did the US debt increase by $7.8 trillion during Donald Trump's presidency?

By Tom Kertscher
YES

The national debt on Jan. 19, 2017, the day before Donald Trump was inaugurated president, was $19,944,429,217,107.

On Jan. 19, 2021, the day before Joe Biden was inaugurated, the debt was: $27,752,835,868,445 — about $7.8 trillion higher.

As of July 14, 2023, more than halfway through Biden’s term, the debt had risen by another roughly $4.7 trillion, to $32,542,410,783,067.

When the government spends more than it takes in, it borrows to make up the deficit. The outstanding debt is the accumulated deficits from previous years.

The debt is a result of decisions made by a president and Congress during a president's term, but also by decisions made by previous presidents and Congresses.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, made the statement about Trump and the debt during a July 11, 2023, interview with the website Wisconsin Right Now. Trump is also a candidate.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
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Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.
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