Trump's Comments About National Debt Draws Ridicule

In a recent interview with the Washington Post's Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, GOP Presidential candidate Donald Trump raised more than a few eyebrows when he claimed that he would pay off the country's $19 trillion debt in eight years.

Trump, who warned that the country was headed for a "very massive recession" in the interview, stated that he was the only candidate that would put the United States on a path towards paying off their debt. Paying down the debt would be a feat by itself, as the country is currently running annual deficits of approximately half a trillion dollars. Pledging to pay off the national debt within eight years, however, has drawn howls of laughter from many economists who argue that the numbers just don't add up.

So how would Trump, who is pledging to cut taxes within 100 days of taking office, pay down the national debt so quickly? According to the frontrunner for the GOP Presidential nomination, he would do so by renegotiating trade deals (especially with China) and military deals.

Most economists believe that Trump's promise to pay down the debt is nonsensical and that the numbers just don't add up. Renegotiate the trade deals, they argue, and the United States economy will likely be severely hurt by trade wars with countries such as China.

These same economists point out that the country is expected to run an additional $6.8 trillion of deficit spending between 2017 and 2024, largely due to increased spending on mandatory spending. Trump has promised not to cut entitlement spending, which leaves economists scratching their heads as to how he plans on the government taking in $19 trillion more than it spends during his two hypothetical terms of President.

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Eliminating the deficit will be a tough enough task for whoever ends up winning in November. Paying off the nation's debt within eight years? That seems downright ludicrous.

Source: WashingtonPost.com - Trump's nonsensical claim he can eliminate $19 trillion in debt in eight years

Photo: Gage Skidmore

Filed under: General Knowledge