'King of debt'—Watchdog group finds Trump borrowed twice as much as Biden
The self-proclaimed "king of debt" has earned his name once again.
A new report from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) found that Trump wracked up $8.4 trillion in national debt during his full term.
For perspective, that's almost twice as much as Joe Biden’s $4.3 trillion, although he has another seven months to spare.
Excluding COVID-related spending, the difference between Trump's and Biden's deficit spending is even bigger—with Trump adding $4.8 trillion to the debt and Biden $2.2 trillion so far.
The fiscal watchdog group looked at how much new ten-year borrowing each candidate has approved during their terms, hoping to shed light on the candidate’s actual track records ahead of the election.
"While past performance is not necessarily indicative of future actions, it is helpful to examine the fiscal performance from each President's time in office for clues as to how they plan to confront these challenges," the CRFB report said.
Key debt drivers for each candidate differ
President Biden's non-Covid debt primarily stems from the 2022 and 2023 spending bills, which added $1.4 trillion.
These spending bills were primarily directed toward infrastructure, healthcare, and climate change initiatives.
Biden's student debt relief program is projected to add $620 billion, while legislation supporting veterans' healthcare has contributed another $520 billion.
In contrast, former President Trump's significant non-Covid debt drivers were his 2017 tax cuts, which resulted in $1.9 trillion in additional borrowing.
That's on top of various bipartisan spending packages that added $2.1 trillion.
But despite out-of-control deficit spending, neither of the candidates appears to be eager to get the budget under control, according to the CRFB."
“The next president will face huge fiscal challenges," CRFB president Maya MacGuineas told Axios.
"Yet both candidates have track records of approving trillions in new borrowing even setting aside the justified borrowing for Covid, and neither has proposed a comprehensive and credible plan to get the debt under control," she said.
Trump and Biden’s teams trade blows
It didn’t take long for both Biden and Trump to respond to the report’s release.
Trump campaign National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to MarketWatch that Biden’s spending is entirely to blame for the inflation crisis.
“The American people cannot afford four more years of Bidenomics. When President Trump is back in the White House, he will reimplement MAGAnomics and restore an economy that uplifts all Americans,” said Leavitt.
In response, Biden campaign spokesperson Michael Singer fired back, criticizing Trump’s fiscal policies.
"This is the Trump record and agenda in a nutshell: thoughtless bluster that hands working families the bill, gives windfalls to the super-wealthy, and weakens our economy, "Singer said.
Trump’s economic policies have been of particular note to economists lately. Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers warned Trump’s spending plans could cause "the mother of all stagflations.”