Early this morning (Saturday, February 25), President Donald Trump took to Twitter to brag about the decrease in the national debt since Inauguration Day.
"The media has not reported that the National Debt in my first month went down by $12 billion vs a $200 billion increase in Obama first mo," Trump wrote.
One might wonder where Trump was getting those figures. As The Hill points out, those exact numbers were shared by the conservative blog, Gateway Pundit on Thursday, February 23. Their report reads, "On January 20th, the day of the Trump Inauguration, the US Debt stood at $19,947 billion. On February 21st, a month later, the US Debt load stood at $19,935 billion. Trump cut the US Debt burden by $12 billion and 0.1% in his first month in office!" Incidentally, the same report was repeated on Fox News by Herman Cain – just a little while before Trump's tweet.
To start, Trump hasn't passed any orders pertaining to the budget since he took office. As economist Dan Mitchell explained, "Considering that Trump hasn’t enacted any fiscal legislation, it’s a bit of a stretch for him to take credit for any changes in debt levels." Mitchell also added that the debt levels tend to fluctuate in a short-term time period.
Furthermore, Trump's proposed plans for the country are likely to increase the national debt – by a lot. A recent report from the Council on Foreign Relations determined that Trump's campaign promises could significantly broaden the budget deficit. The report cites Trump's pledge to "rebuild our military" which includes the addition of 50,000 soldiers, an expansion of the Navy's fleet, and the addition of planes to the Air Force – a plan that, to date, has not contained cost estimates.
More here.
