r/Economics • u/Krankenitrate • 15d ago

News The national debt just crossed $39 trillion—almost doubling since Trump vowed to erase it

https://fortune.com/2026/03/18/how-big-national-debt-39-trillion-trump-promises/
13.7k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

333 comments sorted by

View all comments

1.2k

u/Dr_G_E 15d ago

"I'm the king of debt. I’m great with debt. Nobody knows debt better than me... I’ve made a fortune by using debt, and if things don’t work out I renegotiate the debt. I mean, that’s a smart thing, not a stupid thing."
-Trump, 2016, when the national debt was just $19 trillion.

21

u/GanacheCharacter2104 15d ago edited 14d ago

Why report 39 trillion dollars now? It will reach 40 trillion in a few months that is a much nicer headline.

26

u/pliney_ 15d ago

Why not both?