U.S. national debt increased by about $7.7 trillion during the four years of the Trump presidency—according to the Treasury’s official monthly statement, to $27.75 trillion on Dec. 31, 2020, from $19.93 trillion on Jan. 31, 2017.
The Balance, a financial-news provider, compares past presidents’ fiscal-year budgets against the debt level when they took office. Franklin Roosevelt incurred a small increase by today’s standards in absolute terms ($236 billion) but a 1,050% relative increase as he financed recovery from the Great Depression and then fought World War II. Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, who each pushed for big tax cuts, increased the debt by 186% and 101%, respectively. Barack Obama, inheriting a recession, added $8.59 billion, or 74%. Donald Trump’s increase, on a similar basis, can be estimated at about 40%, as pandemic-related relief measures added to the tally.