President Upset Over Media’s Lack Of Reporting National Debt Drop

Trump said the drop was $12 billion compared to just $200 billion on Obama’s first month. In another tweet that followed, he wrote there is a high optimism about U.S. jobs with the Dow experiencing 11 straight record closings. Huge regulation and tax cuts were coming, he said.

Trump did not mention where his numbers came from, but supporters have made similar arguments. For instance, The Gateway Pundit cited Treasury Department figures that noted the National Debt at $19,947 billion the day Trump was inaugurated. On Feb. 21, there was a $12 billion drop to $19,935 billion.

Business Insider said there were no comparisons that could be made between Trump’s numbers and Obama’s numbers.

According to the report, the debt may have decreased due to a federal government rebalancing of intra-governmental holdings. It said the debt outstanding to the public hadn’t moved much since the day Trump took office.

On top of that, the government is still working under the budget that was passed before Trump was inaugurated, which means if the budget did decrease, it wasn’t due to anything Trump or his administration had done.
It also noted that Obama’s first month in office and Trump’s first month in office was much different. When Obama was sworn in in January 2009, the country was in a major recession – the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. The nation had lost more than 700,000 jobs in February 2009 and around 832,000 the next month. Foreclosures rose significantly and the GDP growth shrunk.

The report said Obama’s response to taking on debt to stimulate the economy was something other presidents before him had done.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the national debt is projected to increase by $9.4 trillion over the next 10 years without additional spending.

The Council on Foreign Relations said Trump’s campaign pledges might actually increase the budget deficit such as boosting military spending, cutting entitlements, reducing individual and corporate taxes and putting $1 trillion toward infrastructure.