When President Trump took office in January 2017, the gross national debt totaled $19.9 trillion. Today it stands at $40 trillion, more than doubling in less than 10 years. During Trump’s time in office, both in his first term and the first half of his second term, the gross national debt increased by $11.5 trillion. During Biden’s presidency, the gross national debt increased by $8.4 trillion, the largest dollar increase to the national debt during any single presidential term.
At the current $40 trillion, the national debt is 123% of the most recent gross domestic product estimate of $32.4 trillion. This heavy financial burden can slow economic growth and increase interest rates.
As the national debt rises, interest payments on that debt will continue to consume more of the federal budget in order to maintain such high debt levels. As each president advances policy or handles national crises, increasing federal payments without increasing federal revenue can force the government to carry annual deficits and add to the national debt.
In President Trump’s first term, the national debt rose by $7.8 trillion. Much of the spending during this term that contributed to the rising debt level was the CARES Act and other COVID relief measures, as well as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. While a large part of the debt during his first term was emergency spending, Trump also contributed to the national debt by cutting taxes without reducing federal spending.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provided significant tax relief for hard-working Americans and spurred tremendous economic growth. These provisions were renewed in the Working Families Tax Cuts in 2025. By increasing the standard deduction, lowering individual income tax brackets, and increasing the child tax credit, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act decreased the amount of money coming from taxpayers. This provided a huge boost to the economy and allowed citizens to keep more of their hard-earned money. Strong economic foundations can increase revenue as more people earn higher incomes, but this contributed to the federal government carrying annual deficits despite helping Americans.
At the same time, bipartisan budgets that increased discretionary spending pushed the debt higher in 2018 and 2019. Beneficial economic policy combined with bipartisan budget efforts contributed heavily to the gross national debt increases during Trump’s presidency.
During Biden’s presidency, $8.4 trillion in added national debt spending came from COVID relief measures, the American Rescue Plan Act, the Social Security Fairness Act, and increases to SNAP benefits and Medicaid.
While it is easy to blame presidents for the high national debt, it is still a team effort, as Congress holds the purse strings. The president can contribute so much to the national debt because members of Congress agreed to the legislation that increased spending or decreased revenue. These two branches must work together to steward the American dollar well without increasing the debt and increasing the interest payments that eat up so much of the federal budget.
As the national debt is now well over the national GDP, interest payments on the debt have continued to rise. In FY 2025, net interest totaled $970 billion. In fiscal year to date 2026, net interest has totaled $931 billion, or 15% of U.S. government spending. Net interest is the third-largest spending category, right behind Social Security and Medicare.
Bottom Line
While Trump is still president, he should aim to rein in spending and implement reforms to preserve Social Security for the truly needy and cut fraud and abuse in welfare programs to slow the rise in the national debt. If the American economy is to remain strong and resilient, Congress must advance efforts to keep our tax dollars from all going directly to debt payments.