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Every Republican Administration Balloons the Debt. Here's the Math. [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-06-04
Here is a list of party-based presidential terms with a breakdown of how much each added to the national debt since WWII according to the US Treasury in face-value bond obligations.
Truman 1945-1952
1945 Debt: $259 Billion
1952 Debt: $259 Billion
Percent Change: Zero
Note: End of WWII and the New Deal
Eisenhower 1953-1960
1953 Debt: $266 Billion
1960 Debt: $286 Billion
Percent Change: 7.5%
Note: Post-war recessions, Interstate Highway Act, Korean War
Kennedy & Johnson 1961-1968
1961 Debt: $289 Billion
1968 Debt: $348 Billion
Percent Change: 20.4%
Note: Great Society, Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam War
Nixon and Ford 1969-1973
1969 Debt: $354 Billion
1976 Debt: $620 Billion
Percent Change: 75.1%
Note: Vietnam War, Tax Reduction Act
Carter 1977-1980
1977 Debt: $699 Billion
1980 Debt: $908 Billion
Percent Change: 29.9%
Note: Oil Crisis, Stagflation
Reagan and Bush I 1981-1992
1981 Debt: $998 Billion
1992 Debt: $4,065 Billion
Percent Change: 307.31%
Note: Military Spending, Tax Cuts on the wealthy, deregulation, de-unionization
Clinton 1993-2000
Debt 1993: $4,411 Billion
Debt 2000: $5,674 Billion
Percent Change: 28.63%
Note: Welfare reform, internet age begins, ends his term with a budget surplus
Bush II 2001-2008
Debt 2001: $5,807 Billion
Debt 2008: $10,025 Billion
Percent Change: 72.6%
Note: Major tax cuts, Iraq War, Afghanistan War, Great Recession Begins
Obama 2009-2016
Debt 2009: $11,910 Billion
Debt 2016: $19,573 Billion
Percent Change: 64.34%
Note: Great Recession, progressive tax reform, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Affordable Care Act, Iraq War ends.
Trump I 2017-2020
Debt 2017: $20,245 Billion
Debt 2020: $26,945 Billion
Percent Change: 33.1%
Note: Tax cuts, deregulations, COVID begins, CARES Act
Biden 2021-2024
Debt 2021: $28,428 Billion
Debt 2024: $35,464 Billion
Percent Change: 24.8%
Note: COVID, Inflation Reduction Act, Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, CHIPS Act, Afghanistan War ends
Democratic Results
Average: 28%
1st: Truman 0%
2nd: Kennedy & Johnson 20.4%
3rd: Biden 24.8%
4th: Clinton: 28.6%
5th: Carter: 29.9%
6th: Obama 64.3%
Republican Results (average debt increase based on contiguous administrations)
Average: 55.6%,
1st: Eisenhower 7.5%
2nd: Trump 33.1%
3rd: Bush I 42.3%
4th: Bush II 72.6%
5th: Nixon and Ford 75.1%
6th: Reagan 160.7%
Reagan and Bush I 307.31% (as a contiguous administration)
The evidence is clear, although there are all sorts of reasons behind the individual data; wars, recessions, public investments, social ills, tax cuts, etc. Every Democratic presidency is BELOW the Republican average except for Obama. If you compare Obama to his predecessor Bush II, Obama’s percent change in the debt (64.3%) was less than Bush II (72.6%)—a decidedly NOT BALLOONING negative 12.9%.
Every Republican president is ABOVE the Democratic average except for Eisenhower. If you compare Eisenhower with his predecessor Truman, Eisenhower increased the debt by 7.5% vs. zero--an infinite (technically 7.5 / 0 = undefined) amount. So he certainly Ballooned the debt. I acknowledge that the dates could have been chosen differently. I’d like to see someone pour through the exact data with a different methodology to see if the numbers jive. That deserves another diary. Tell your friends.
Link to data
fiscaldata.treasury.gov/…
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