'Disingenuous comparison': Outrage as study claims Donald Trump added double the amount of national debt as Joe Biden

WASHINGTON, DC: Former President Donald Trump increased the national debt twice as much as President Joe Biden, according to a new analysis of their fiscal records.

A study conducted by the Washington think tank Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CFBR) noted that the Republican presumptive nominee borrowed $8.4 trillion during his full term in the White House, whereas Biden added $4.3 trillion in the first three years and five months tenure in the office, as reported by The Hill. 

Even with the reduction of the Covid-19 relief measures, the 45th POTUS' borrowing stood 2-to-1 as he approved $4.8 trillion, excluding the CARES Act and other Covid relief, while his successor, who has little over half a year left in the first term, added $2.2 trillion barring the American Rescue Plan.

Joe Biden and Donald Trump's addition to the national deficit stems from different actions

A majority of Biden's non-pandemic-related borrowing came from appropriations for the fiscal year 2022 and 2023, student debt actions, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and other executive actions.

On the other hand, Trump incurred a 77% deficit from bipartisan legislation while 23% stemmed from bills with little to no bipartisan backing. Under the Biden administration, 29% of additional debts resulted from bipartisan legislation, while 71% were from partisan actions.

Though both were able to spend the first two years of their tenures with their respective parties holding a majority in both chambers of Congress, the House flipped to the opposite side during the midterm elections in 2018 and 2022.

The fiscal measures approved to deal with the pandemic expanded the deficit during the Biden administration. Between the first and second quarters of 2020, the US witnessed over $3 trillion increase in debt, a steep rise compared to recent years and the pre-pandemic period. Currently, the total debt is around $34.5 trillion.

According to the CRFB analysis, the national debt would likely reach a record share of the US economy in the next presidential term. Therefore, both Trump and Biden should come up with plans to "reduce the national debt, secure the trust funds, and put the budget on a sustainable long-term path."

Internet reacts to analysis claiming Donald Trump accumulated twice as much national debt as Joe Biden

Netizens had mixed reactions to the analysis that said Trump ran up the national debt by about twice as much as Biden. One side criticized the former president's policies, while the other group defended him, citing the Covid-19 pandemic.

One wrote, "Disingenuous comparison," while another remarked, "Whats the diffrence? How did Trump begin to build it back up? Tarriffs, equal imports and exports. Biden nixed it. Now we are here. Trump is a better business man. Better POTUS."

"Trump has the most inflationary and reckless fiscal policies in U.S. history, and it’s not particularly close," noted a person and someone else added, "The numbers say you're lying, again. And Trump was hit with global pandemic, and was forced to spend money to avoid a recession. What was Biden's excuse? Foreign wars?"

An individual claimed, "Trump is a freaking disaster for business, and can't even run his own businesses and stay out of bankruptcy. A complete idiot who knows nothing." 

Whereas another person stated, "Well, there was that pesky little thing called COVID and the resulting shut down of our economy during Trump’s term."

"We have known this for a long time. Trump destroyed the economy, mis-handled the virus, and put us in a recession. The US voter fired Trump for his failures and now we are holding him accountable for his crimes," argued one more. 

Another comment read, "He was a growth minded president. Using public debt constructively to grow the size of the economy. But yeah leverage is troublesome."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.