On Saturday morning, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to point out a fact he thought the media was underreporting: the decrease in the national debt in his first month.
"The media has not reported that the National Debt in my first month went down by $12 billion vs a $200 billion increase in Obama first mo[nth]," tweeted Trump.
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Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
The media has not reported that the National Debt in my first month went down by $12 billion vs a $200 billion increase in Obama first mo.
7:19 AM - 25 Feb 2017
38,464 38,464 Retweets 120,536 120,536 likes
The tweet, which echoes something Herman Cain said on Fox News' Fox & Friends an hour before, doesn't make sense for a few reasons.
First, it is true that the debt has probably ticked down but as noted by the Atlantic's David Frum, this is mostly due to the federal government rebalancing its intra-governmental holdings. Debt outstanding to the public has barely budged since Inauguration Day.
Additionally, the federal government is still operating under the budget passed before Trump came into office, so even if the overall debt decreased, his administration had little to do with it.
Finally, and most importantly, the economic circumstances during his and Obama's first month in office are vastly different and make the comparison totally off base.
When Obama took office in January 2009, the country was in the midst of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. The US economy lost 702,000 jobs in February 2009 and 832,000 in March 2009, GDP growth collapsed, and foreclosures soared.
In response to this crisis, Obama did what presidents typically do during recessions: took on debt to stimulate the economy.
President Obama's first 100 days in the White House:
"The media has not reported that the National Debt in my first month went down by $12 billion vs a $200 billion increase in Obama first mo[nth]," tweeted Trump.
Follow
Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
The media has not reported that the National Debt in my first month went down by $12 billion vs a $200 billion increase in Obama first mo.
7:19 AM - 25 Feb 2017
38,464 38,464 Retweets 120,536 120,536 likes
The tweet, which echoes something Herman Cain said on Fox News' Fox & Friends an hour before, doesn't make sense for a few reasons.
First, it is true that the debt has probably ticked down but as noted by the Atlantic's David Frum, this is mostly due to the federal government rebalancing its intra-governmental holdings. Debt outstanding to the public has barely budged since Inauguration Day.
Additionally, the federal government is still operating under the budget passed before Trump came into office, so even if the overall debt decreased, his administration had little to do with it.
Finally, and most importantly, the economic circumstances during his and Obama's first month in office are vastly different and make the comparison totally off base.
When Obama took office in January 2009, the country was in the midst of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. The US economy lost 702,000 jobs in February 2009 and 832,000 in March 2009, GDP growth collapsed, and foreclosures soared.
In response to this crisis, Obama did what presidents typically do during recessions: took on debt to stimulate the economy.
President Obama's first 100 days in the White House:
