Trump lashes out at media for failing to report debt decrease

WASHINGTON – President Trump took to Twitter on Saturday morning to claim the media ignored some good news about his administration.

“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,” he tweeted.

In a follow-up tweet, he added: “Great optimism for future of U.S. business, AND JOBS, with the DOW having an 11th straight record close. Big tax & regulation cuts coming!”

Trump didn't indicate where he got the numbers, but some of his supporters have been making the same argument. The Gateway Pundit, a far-right website, published an article Thursday citing figures from the Treasury Department that show the national debt stood at $19,947 billion the day Trump took office but fell to $19,935 billion by Feb. 21 – a drop of $12 billion.

However, Business Insider reported the situations aren’t comparable.

While it’s true that the debt probably ticked down, “this is mostly due to the federal government rebalancing its intra-governmental holdings,” the publication reported. “Debt outstanding to the public has barely budged since Inauguration Day."

In addition, 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, the publication said.

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“Finally,” the Business Insider noted, “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.”

The Congressional Budget Office projected national debt will grow by $9.4 trillion over the next decade, even without further spending.

But, “based on his campaign pledges, many analysts say Trump’s policies would be likely to significantly widen the budget deficit,” the Council on Foreign Relations reported Friday.

The report cited Trump’s promises to forgo any cuts to entitlements, rebuild the military, spend $1 trillion on infrastructure and cut corporate and individual taxes.