Fact check: Donald Trump right that the debt has doubled under President Barack Obama?
October 10, 2016
By Fact Check by Ballotpedia staff
America’s $14 trillion public debt was mentioned several times during the September 26 debate between presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. In one instance, Trump claimed that the Obama administration has “doubled [the debt] in a course of almost eight years.”
Is that claim accurate? The public debt has doubled (in dollar terms) during President Obama’s tenure, but Congress shares responsibility with the White House for the increase.
Government debt
On the day of President Obama’s first inauguration, January 20, 2009, the public debt was $6.3 trillion, according to the U.S. Department of Treasury.[1] On the day of the debate, the total public debt was reported by Treasury to be $14.1 trillion.[1] The increase in the public debt (in dollar terms) between the two dates amounts to 124 percent.
Government debt is divided into two categories: public debt and the debt held by government accounts. Debt held by the public is defined as debt held by investors outside of the federal government, both domestic and foreign, including state and local governments and foreign governments. (It also includes debt held by the Federal Reserve.) Debt held by government accounts consists of federal securities held by government trust funds that represents borrowing from fund surpluses. By law, trust fund surpluses must be “invested” in federal securities.[2]
The source of the debt
Public debt reflects the accumulation of government borrowing to cover deficit spending. When the president and Congress spend more than the government collects in taxes, fees and other revenue, the government borrows money to cover the resulting budget deficit. The debt is exacerbated by the cost of interest—which has exceeded $2 trillion since 2009.[2]
The Obama administration is not solely responsible for the debt increase. A chunk of the debt is a consequence of spending decisions predating Obama’s terms. Congress is also responsible for tax and spending levels.
Debt can also be measured in proportion to gross domestic product (GDP). Between 2008 and 2016, public debt as a percentage of GDP has nearly doubled, from 39.3 percent to 76.5 percent.[2]
Factors that increased the debt
The federal budget consists of three broad categories of spending: mandatory, discretionary and interest on the debt.[3] Mandatory expenditures are dictated by law, not annual appropriations. Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid comprise most of the mandatory spending, which totaled about $2.5 trillion in 2016.[4]
Discretionary spending requires annual approval by Congress and the President. This includes expenditures for education, transportation, public works and some social services, among other categories.[3]
A major component of the increase in the debt was “stimulus” spending in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, chiefly through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the ARRA will ultimately increase budget deficits by $830 billion between 2009 and 2019.[5]
Deficits also have jumped in large part because of the 56 percent increase in mandatory spending, which rose from about $1.6 trillion in 2008 to about $2.5 trillion in 2016. A substantial proportion of the increase has been due to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Discretionary spending, by comparison, increased by about 8 percent, from $1.1 trillion in 2008 to 1.2 trillion in 2016.[6]
Control efforts
The White House and Congress enacted the Budget Control Act of 2011 to reduce the deficit by imposing caps on discretionary spending and instituting across-the-board spending cuts known as “sequestration.” The CBO has projected that the measure bill will reduce deficits by $2.1 trillion between 2012 and 2021.[7]
However, Congress and the White House walked back some of the cuts in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, thereby eliminating some of the projected deficit reduction.[4]
Conclusion
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, during the September 26 debate against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, claimed that the Obama administration has “doubled [the debt] in a course of almost eight years.”
Is that accurate? The public debt has indeed doubled (in dollar terms) during President Obama’s tenure, but Congress shares responsibility with the White House for the increase.
Launched in October 2015 and active through October 2018, Fact Check by Ballotpedia examined claims made by elected officials, political appointees, and political candidates at the federal, state, and local levels. We evaluated claims made by politicians of all backgrounds and affiliations, subjecting them to the same objective and neutral examination process. As of 2026, Ballotpedia staff periodically review these articles to revaluate and reaffirm our conclusions. Please email us with questions, comments, or concerns about these articles. To learn more about fact-checking, click here.
Sources and Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Treasury Direct, "The Daily History of the Debt Results: Historical returns from 01/20/2009 through 09/26/2016," accessed September 29, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2017, "Federal Borrowing and Debt," accessed September 29, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2017, "Budget Concepts," accessed September 29, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Congressional Budget Office, "The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2016 to 2026," August 23, 2016
- ↑ Congressional Budget Office, "Estimated Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on Employment and Economic Output in 2013," February 21, 2014
- ↑ Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2017, "Historical Tables," accessed September 29, 2016
- ↑ Congressional Budget Office, "CBO Analysis of August 1 Budget Control Act," August 1, 2011
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