Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton trolled former President Donald Trump over his broken promise to "reduce the national debt" in a blunt tweet in which she noted that it "may shock" people to "learn that he lied."
During his tenure as President, Trump oversaw a significant increase in the national debt which could have a devastating impact for future generations, according to experts who spoke to ProPublica.
You can see Clinton's tweet below.
\u201cDonald Trump promised he'd reduce the national debt. It may shock you to learn that he lied.\n\nhttps://t.co/dQz0gSxusF\u201d— Hillary Clinton (@Hillary Clinton) 1682959458
The national debt increased by nearly $7.8 trillion under Trump's watch, a sum equivalent to twice the amount of all non-mortgage debt held by Americans, including student loans, car loans and credit card debt. This translates to roughly $23,500 in new debt per person across the country.
Eugene Steuerle, a leading budget expert and co-founder of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, calculated Trump's administration had the third-highest increase in the annual deficit relative to the size of the economy of any U.S. presidency.
This is particularly noteworthy because unlike other presidents who oversaw larger relative increases, such as George W. Bush and Abraham Lincoln, Trump did not have to pay for a civil war or launch foreign conflicts.
Many were not surprised by what Clinton pointed out—and couldn't help but echo her criticisms of Trump.
\u201c@HillaryClinton @DjMusgr What? Not the grifter, conman Donald? Of course he did. Remember his comment he made, I\u2019m paraphrasing: \u201c Fellas I just made you richer\u201d after they, Rs, passed the tax cuts to corporations and the top 1%. When Rs talk about trickle down economics they had shareholders in mind.\u201d— Hillary Clinton (@Hillary Clinton) 1682959458
\u201c@HillaryClinton @NooneOfan Donald Trump lies about everything, big and small: from his golf score to conversations with foreign leaders to the size of his fortune to the size of his...well, you know!\n\nThe lesson: Never believe a word he says or have any faith in any paper he signs. Hall of Fame liar.\u201d— Hillary Clinton (@Hillary Clinton) 1682959458
\u201c@HillaryClinton Doesn't that take into account of all of the COVID supplies; most of which were most likely to be destroyed or repurposed.\u201d— Hillary Clinton (@Hillary Clinton) 1682959458
\u201cTrump didn't do anything but rip all AMERICANS OFF! HE PUT AMERICA IN DEBT!!\n\nMAKE HIM PAY IT BACK!!\u201d— Victoria \u2696\ufe0f\ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc9b\ud83c\udf3b\u270c\ufe0f (@Victoria \u2696\ufe0f\ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc9b\ud83c\udf3b\u270c\ufe0f) 1682979542
\u201cWhat would shock would be Trump telling the truth. #VoteBlue\u201d— InBidensCorner (@InBidensCorner) 1682988700
\u201cOf course he did! He turned the money printers ON full speed then jumped off the train and put Joe in charge! \ud83e\udd23 #GENIUS #COVFEFE\u201d— GMONEY\ud83e\udde2\u20bf\u26a1\ufe0f\ud83c\udf4a\ud83d\udc38\ud83d\udc8a (@GMONEY\ud83e\udde2\u20bf\u26a1\ufe0f\ud83c\udf4a\ud83d\udc38\ud83d\udc8a) 1682990842
\u201c@HillaryClinton That\u2019s Trumps nature. If he\u2019s breathing \ud83d\ude2e\u200d\ud83d\udca8 he\u2019s lying\u201d— Hillary Clinton (@Hillary Clinton) 1682959458
\u201cShe\u2019s not wrong tho\u201d— Ryan Cook\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83e\udd20\u269c\ufe0f (@Ryan Cook\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83e\udd20\u269c\ufe0f) 1682972083
Clinton's tweet comes as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen issued a warning the United States might run out of funds to pay its obligations by June 1 unless Congress raises or suspends the debt ceiling.
The accelerated timeline could speed up the negotiations between the House, Senate and President Biden on government spending. This is a critical point of contention between the president and House Republicans who are demanding significant spending cuts before they agree to raise the debt ceiling.
Following Yellen’s updated timeline, President Biden contacted the top four congressional leaders on Monday to request a meeting on May 9 for discussions on fiscal matters.
