Fact Check: Did Trump announce reducing national debt by 55% in a social media post?
WASHINGTON, DC: Amid the criticisms against the Trump administration over debt and inflation, a claim began circulating on social media platforms that President Donald Trump, in a social media post, announced signing an executive order to reduce the national debt by 55%. The claim has sparked criticism and mockery, prompting a fact-check.
Claim: Trump announced he has signed an executive order to cut down national debt by 55%
The claim circulated in the form of a screenshot appearing to show a post by Trump on his official Truth Social handle.
Trump allegedly began his post, “I have just signed Executive Order 25-8647, officially reducing our national debt by 55%-taking it overnight from $40 Trillion down to a beautiful, clean $10 Trillion! Nobody else could do it! Pure high IQ Math Dumborcats don't understand.”
He apparently went on to say, “A huge portion of that debt was totally ILLEGAL! The fake lenders took complete advantage of us on trade for years, but the party is over. I told them very clearly: if they ever want their tariffs removed, they have to wipe out the debt FIRST."
"It's called leverage, folks! Plus, under basic real estate law-which the low-IQ economists know nothing about any debt older than 7 years is completely expired anyway! Millions of people are saying it! And for whatever tiny balance is left over, we are offering to settle it using hundreds of billions of unused corporate credit card points and frequent flyer miles that we accumulated from government spending!" the screenshot further read.
"They have to take them-it's high-level finance! I am a great negotiator. I have dealt with tough lenders my entire life, and I have ALWAYS WON! We are wiping out trillions with a single pen stroke, paid for 100% by foreign tariff money and credit card rewards, and there is nothing they can do about it! TOTAL VICTORY! MAKE AMERICA DEBT-FREE AGAIN!” Trump apparently added.
Fact Check: Trump made no such post
However, the screenshot is fake and fabricated, as no such post exists on any of Trump’s social media accounts. A search on his official Truth Social handle for relevant keywords yielded no results.
A further search on Google to check if the president had announced reducing the national debt also yielded no results, which, if true, would have been covered by prominent news media outlets.
Moreover, the screenshot includes several clues of fabrications and indications that it was intended as satire, including a watermark stating, "@Mrs Putin Satire." Several other clues include a fake date under the post and a fake username.
