FLASHBACK: Trump ran on being 'King of Debt' in 2016, bragged he could eliminate national debt in 8 years

When Donald Trump ran for president for the archetypal time, helium campaigned connected reducing the nationalist debt, referring to himself astatine the clip arsenic "the king of debt" and telling voters helium would wage disconnected the nation's multi-trillion-dollar indebtedness successful 8 years.   

"I'm the king of debt. I’m large with debt. Nobody knows indebtedness amended than me," Trump said during an interrogation with CBS's Norah O'Donnell successful the pb up to the 2016 election. "I’ve made a luck by utilizing debt, and if things don’t enactment retired I renegotiate the debt. I mean, that’s a astute thing, not a anserine thing." 

"We’ve got to get escaped of the $19 trillion successful debt," Trump said a fewer months anterior connected the run way during an interrogation with The Washington Post. When asked however agelong it would take, Trump responded: "I would accidental implicit a play of 8 years … The powerfulness is trade. Our deals are truthful bad." 

SENATE WEIGHS TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' AS POLICY GROUP BACKS CBO, PROJECTS $3 TRILLION DEBT INCREASE

When Donald Trump ran for president for the archetypal time, helium campaigned connected reducing the nationalist debt, referring to himself astatine the clip arsenic "the king of debt" and telling voters helium would wage disconnected the nation's multi-trillion-dollar indebtedness successful 8 years. (GETTY IMAGES/DONALD J. TRUMP)

The nation's ever-rising indebtedness is erstwhile again a absorption for Trump, arsenic GOP defectors implicit his "big, beauteous bill," person mostly staked their concerns astir arguments that the Republican Party's caller spending bundle volition summation the nationalist indebtedness and shortage excessively much, with the Congressional Budget Office estimating it volition adhd astir $3 trillion implicit the adjacent decade.

The indebtedness presently stands astatine much than $36.2 trillion according to Fox Business' U.S. National Debt Tracker.

Elon Musk, who has cemented his stance successful caller days against the Trump-endorsed spending bundle – starring to a highly-publicized feud betwixt the 2 leaders – has argued that measure "undermines" the enactment helium did portion starring the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) due to the fact that it does not chopped spending enough.

"This immense level of overspending volition thrust America into indebtedness slavery!" Musk declared aboriginal connected Wednesday successful a station connected X, shortly aft helium called the measure a "disgusting abomination."

In this December 2024 photo, 2 women locomotion past a autobus halt wherever determination is simply a National Debt Clock billboard show showing the United States gross nationalist indebtedness and each American family's stock of the indebtedness successful Washington, D.C. (ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)

TRUMP’S ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’ NEEDS A 'FAT SHOT' TO END OUR DANGEROUS DEBT ADDICTION

Shortly thereafter, Musk referenced an X station from GOP Utah Sen. Mike Lee, which argued that "the accrued involvement connected the nationalist indebtedness present exceeds $1 trillion a year." This is much than the state spends connected defence annually, Lee's station added. "And yet Congress continues to add to the indebtedness astatine an astounding complaint of $2 trillion per year—with our nationalist indebtedness increasing faster than our economy."

In different X station from Musk, successful the pb up to his feud with Trump this week, helium succinctly described the U.S.'s $36.2 trillion indebtedness arsenic "scary."  

Even earlier the highly publicized feud betwixt Musk and Trump implicit the contentious GOP spending package, Musk called the rising national debt "terrifying" and lamented "America is headed for de facto bankruptcy precise fast." 

Representative Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, wears a homemade nationalist indebtedness timepiece pin connected Capitol Hill successful Washington, D.C. connected Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. Massie is 1 of 2 House GOP defectors connected Trump's "big, beauteous bill" implicit what it volition bash to the nationalist indebtedness and deficit. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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"President Trump is the archetypal president successful modern past to earnestly tackle the waste, fraud, and maltreatment successful our bloated government. He has already trimmed billions successful astonishingly mindless authorities spending crossed the administration, and present helium is spearheading The One, Big, Beautiful Bill – which volition beryllium the largest shortage simplification successful decades," White House spokesperson Kush Desai said to Fox News Digital successful a connection Friday afternoon.