Donald Trump Built a National Debt So Big (Even Before the Pandemic) That It’ll Weigh Down the Economy for Years - ProPublica

Oct 13, 2026

ProPublica reports that President Donald Trump’s administration fueled a rapid rise in the U.S. national debt even before the COVID-19 era, contrary to promises to reduce it. The article states the debt reached its highest level relative to the economy since World War II and notes sharp growth in deficits tied to the 2017 tax cuts and limited spending restraint. It also contrasts prior claims about tariff-driven debt repayment with projections from the Congressional Budget Office.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryGeneral

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

The debt rises despite promises

Pre-pandemic debt and growing deficits

Tax cuts and lack of spending restraint

Tariffs vs. debt repayment predictions

2/ 10/25 , 12:46 PM Donald Trump Built a National Debt So Big (Even Before the Pandemic) That It’ll Weigh Down the Economy for Years—ProPublica [https://www.propublica.org/article/national-debt-trump](https://www.propublica.org/article/national-debt-trump) 1/9 2/ 10/25 , 12:46 PM Donald Trump Built a National Debt So Big (Even Before the Pandemic) That It’ll Weigh Down the Economy for Years—ProPublica Above: President Donald Trump promised to reduce the national debt but instead increased it. It is now at its highest level relative to the U.S. economy since the end of World War II. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images) ProPublica is a nonproﬁt newsroom that investigates abuses ofpower. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’republished. This story was co-published with The Washington Post. One of President Donald Trump’s lesser known but profoundly damaging legacies will be the explosive rise in the national debt that occurred on his watch. The ﬁnancial burden that he’s inﬂicted on our government will wreak havoc for decades, saddling our kids and grandkids with debt. The national debt has risen by almost $7.8 trillion during Trump’s time in oﬃce. That’s nearly twice as much as what Americans owe on student loans, car loans, credit cards and every other type of debt other than 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 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. [https://www.propublica.org/article/national-debt-trump](https://www.propublica.org/article/national-debt-trump) 2/9 2/ 10/25 , 12:46 PM Donald Trump Built a National Debt So Big (Even Before the Pandemic) That It’ll Weigh Down the Economy for Years—ProPublica The National Debt Increased Under Trump Despite His Promise to Reduce It Daily total national debt from 2009 to present. Source: U.S. Treasury (Lena V. Groeger/ProPublica) Economists agree that we needed massive deﬁcit spending during the COVID-19 crisis to ward oﬀ an economic cataclysm, but federal ﬁnances under Trump had become dire even before the pandemic. That happened even though the economy was booming and unemployment was at historically low levels. By the Trump administration’s own description, the pre-pandemic national debt level was already a “crisis” and a “grave threat.” The combination of Trump’s 2017 tax cut and the lack of any serious spending restraint helped both the deﬁcit and the debt soar. So when the once-in-a-lifetime viral disaster slammed our country and we threw more than $3 trillion into COVID-19-related stimulus, there was no longer any margin for error. Our national debt has reached immense levels relative to our economy, nearly as high as it was at the end of World War II. But unlike 75 years ago, the massive ﬁnancial overhang from Medicare and Social Security will make it dramatically more diﬃcult to dig ourselves out of the debt ditch. [https://www.propublica.org/article/national-debt-trump](https://www.propublica.org/article/national-debt-trump) 3/9 2/ 10/25 , 12:46 PM Donald Trump Built a National Debt So Big (Even Before the Pandemic) That It’ll Weigh Down the Economy for Years—ProPublica The Debt to GDP Ratio Is the Highest It's Been Since WorldWar II Federal debt held by the public as a percentage of gross domestic product since 1900. Source: Congressional Budget Office (Lena V. Groeger/ProPublica) Falling deeper into th

FAQs

What does the article say about Trump’s national debt record before COVID-19?

It says the national debt rose dramatically during Trump’s time in office, reaching its highest level relative to the U.S. economy since World War II even before the pandemic.

According to the article, what factors helped push deficits and debt higher?

It points to the 2017 tax cuts and the lack of serious spending restraint, which increased deficits and accelerated the growth of the debt.

How does the article address Trump’s claims about paying down debt using economic growth and tariffs?

It contrasts those claims with projections and outcomes, noting that deficits grew instead of falling and that tariff-related expectations did not eliminate the budget deficit.

Oct 13, 2026

Upload by Mary Man