Ledger · 2016 campaign · № 41
Eliminate the entire national debt in eight years
Never delivered“[On paying off the $19 trillion national debt] Over a period of eight years.”
- Promised
- , Interview with Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, The Washington Post
- Stated deadline
- “eight years” → March 31, 2024
- Overdue by
- 2 years, 5 months as of September 22, 2026
- Re-promised
- 5 times with a fresh deadline
- Topic
- Economy & prices
- Era
- 2016 campaign
What happened
Debt rose throughout the term. FactCheck.org calculated that federal debt held by the public rose 50 percent under Trump, from $14.4 trillion to $21.6 trillion, and the fiscal 2020 deficit reached $3.1 trillion. Gross national debt went from roughly $19 trillion to about $27.75 trillion by January 2021.