Amazingly, some still suffer from Trump Delusionment Syndrome, defending his economic policies while claiming Biden ‘destroyed the economy’ or insisting that Trump needs to ‘break some eggs’ to bake a cake—meaning we need to endure pain. No, we don’t need pain. The economy performed the best in history during Biden’s term, in sharp contrast to both Trump 1.0 and the early signs of Trump 2.0.
Let’s look at the numbers: During Trump’s first term (2017–2021), the national debt increased by about $7.8 trillion, mainly due to tax cuts that didn’t pay for themselves and pandemic-related spending. Under Biden (2021–2025), the debt rose by about $6.3 trillion—but a significant portion of that came from legislation and tax policies enacted under Trump.
Now, three months into Trump’s second term (2025–2029), debt projections are looking even worse. Estimates suggest Trump 2.0 will add an additional $10 trillion, driven by an extension of his tax cuts and increasing deficits. By the end of Trump 2.0, Trump will have added more to the national debt than all Democratic presidents combined.
So if debt is your concern, you might want to rethink which administration is actually running up the tab. On the other hand, if you’re talking about GDP, we are currently experiencing the sharpest decline since Trump’s last term—when he oversaw the fastest economic contraction in U.S. history.
Protectionism is one of the worst economic policies. Tariffs are regressive taxes that disproportionately harm marginalized communities while failing to boost the economy or reduce the deficit. The last time a president imposed broad tariffs, it contributed to the Great Depression—a global economic catastrophe that took decades to recover from and provided no lasting benefits to society.