Fact Check: Has the US deficit grown under GOP presidents and shrunk under Dems since Ronald Reagan?

WASHINGTON, DC: A meme circulated in July 2025 claiming that since former President Ronald Reagan, the US deficit budget grew under every Republican president while it decreased under Democratic presidents.

The rumor appeared to gain traction across social media platforms, and many people seemed to believe it. But is there any truth to this viral claim? Let’s find out below.

Claim: US deficit grew under GOP presidents and shrunk under Democrats

Last month, a claim circulated online purporting to show that the US budget deficit deepened under every GOP president and shrunk under every Democratic president since Ronald Reagan, who took office in January 1981.

A Facebook page, Care2, made the claim in a post that read: "Change in federal deficit: Ronald Reagan +$74B, George Bush Sr +$102B, Bill Clinton (-$383B), George Bush Jr +$1.5T, Barack Obama (-$825B), Donald Trump +$2T, Joe Biden (-$942B), Donald Trump +$4T and counting."

The rumor was also shared across various social media platforms, including Instagram and X. Interestingly, such memes have circulated over the years using different time frames.

In 2022, while Joe Biden was still president, a meme claimed that over the last 50 years, only three Democratic presidents, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden, had successfully lowered the deficit.

Fact Check: Mostly true if taken in absolute terms at the end of each presidential term

The claims made in the online rumor are mostly true, as a review of economic data since 1981 revealed, Snopes reported, in absolute terms.

However, the fact-checking outlet noted that the claim requires additional context.

According to Snopes, using data compiled from the Office of Management and Budget, the St Louis Federal Reserve created a chart showing the US budget deficit or surplus, calculated as the difference between total revenue and spending.

This data indicates that, since 1981, the deficit increased under Republican administrations and decreased under Democratic ones.

For example, the deficit was $78.9 billion in 1981, the first year of Ronald Reagan’s presidency, and had grown to $152.6 billion by 1989, his final year in office. The difference is $73.6 billion—rounded to $74 billion in the meme.

Similarly, under George HW Bush, the deficit deepened to $102.4 billion.

Meanwhile, Clinton presided over a $383.3 billion reduction in the deficit during his time in office, ultimately resulting in a budget surplus.

However, the meme did contain at least one inaccuracy. While Obama’s administration did lead the recovery from the financial crisis, the deficit had shrunk by $747.2 billion by the time he left office in 2017, not $825 billion, as the meme claimed.

Trump’s first term saw $300 billion increase in deficit

Donald Trump’s first term as president saw the US deficit deepen by $300 billion in his first two years. He then faced the Covid-19 pandemic, and by the time he left office, the deficit had grown by $2.1 trillion compared with 2017.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration oversaw the post-pandemic recovery. By the second half of 2024, the most recent period for which data is available, the deficit had dropped by $942.5 billion. 

However, it is too early to determine the full impact on the deficit under Trump’s potential second term.

Notably, the meme referenced estimates that began circulating after the passage of the “big beautiful bill” that Congress approved at the president’s urging in early July 2025.

However, the fact-checking outlet reported that experts predict the new budget would deepen the deficit by $3.9 trillion over the next 10 years.

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