401kRollover Blog

As a Twitter commentator, reality TV star and Republican candidate, Donald Trump railed against Obama-era budget deficits. But instead of tightening the belt, President Trump blew all that away in March when he signed an omnibus spending deal that saw huge increases in spending without corresponding cuts.

Six years ago, Trump was harsh on Obama the spending levels at the end of his first term

“Scary–Obama’s budget deficits are so out of control that he has to borrow 40 cents on every dollar he spends,” he said, via Twitter in 2012.

Even as recent as May 2017, Trump claimed that the administration wanted to wipe out US deficit in 10 years by cutting spending on social safety-net programmes by more than $1 trillion.

During a 2017 briefing, Mr Trump’s Budget Director Mick Mulvaney had outlined a plan to balance the budget in 10 years by slashing government spending by $3.6 trillion over 10 years, including steep cuts to Medicaid  and food stamps.

But this ambition failed to materialise in 2018. Despite his rhetoric, the government’s debt will be about $27 trillion by the end of President Trump’s term.

According to Judge Andrew Napolitano, big government booster Woodrow Wilson financed US intervention in World War One by borrowing $30 billion.  The government never repaid the debt and still owes the $30 billion principal, paying $15 billion in interest. That century-old debt is now at $20.6 trillion today.