The Democrats' best card
Truman +2.8%
From $0.25 trillion to $0.26 trillion, June 1948 to June 1952.
The chart they hide: Obama +88%
AI illustrationNational debt
The national debt: both parties ran it up. Who added most?
Each party calls itself the responsible one. The Treasury's own numbers show what actually happened on each president's watch.
- total public debt · November 2026
- $40.5 trillion
- vs. a year ago
- +5.6%
- Record high · November 2026
- $40.5 trillion
- Record low · June 1948
- $0.3 trillion
The whole story, month by month
Democrats vs. Republicans
Democrats+5.2%per year in office, over 37 years and 7 presidencies
Republicans+8.1%per year in office, over 42 years and 8 presidencies
Both sides have a chart to wave
The Republicans' best card
Eisenhower +10%
From $0.26 trillion to $0.29 trillion, June 1952 to June 1960.
The chart they hide: Reagan +187%
Every president, ranked
Percent change during each term. Best to worst.
- Truman+2.8%
- Kennedy+7.0%
- Eisenhower+10%
- Trump II (so far)+12%
- Johnson+14%
- Biden+30%
- Ford+31%
- Nixon+36%
- Trump I+39%
- Clinton+41%
- Carter+46%
- G.H.W. Bush+56%
- G.W. Bush+86%
- Obama+88%
- Reagan+187%
Why this number starts fights
Congress writes the spending and tax laws and presidents sign them, so blame is genuinely shared. The ranking here uses percent growth, which flatters recent presidents because the debt started so large. Counted in dollars, the recent terms look far worse. Tax cuts, wars, recessions and the pandemic all sit behind these lines.
How to read it without getting played
No president controls this number alone. Congress, the Federal Reserve, global markets, wars, pandemics and the economy they inherited all move it. A term's score shows what happened on their watch, not what they caused. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling a side.
Method: percent change from the month a president took office to the month the term ended. The party figure is the annualized rate across all its years in office.
More numbers people fight about
Show the yearly table
| Year | Value |
|---|---|
| 2026 | $40.5 trillion |
| 2025 | $38.5 trillion |
| 2024 | $36.2 trillion |
| 2023 | $34.0 trillion |
| 2022 | $31.4 trillion |
| 2021 | $29.6 trillion |
| 2020 | $27.7 trillion |
| 2019 | $23.2 trillion |
| 2018 | $22.0 trillion |
| 2017 | $20.5 trillion |
| 2016 | $20.0 trillion |
| 2015 | $18.9 trillion |
| 2014 | $18.1 trillion |
| 2013 | $17.4 trillion |
| 2012 | $16.4 trillion |
| 2011 | $15.2 trillion |
| 2010 | $14.0 trillion |
| 2009 | $12.3 trillion |
| 2008 | $10.7 trillion |
| 2007 | $9.2 trillion |
| 2006 | $8.7 trillion |
| 2005 | $8.2 trillion |
| 2004 | $7.6 trillion |
| 2003 | $7.0 trillion |
| 2002 | $6.4 trillion |
| 2001 | $5.9 trillion |
| 2000 | $5.7 trillion |
| 1999 | $5.8 trillion |
| 1998 | $5.6 trillion |
| 1997 | $5.5 trillion |
| 1996 | $5.3 trillion |
| 1995 | $5.0 trillion |
| 1994 | $4.8 trillion |
| 1993 | $4.5 trillion |
| 1992 | $4.1 trillion |
| 1991 | $3.7 trillion |
| 1990 | $3.2 trillion |
| 1989 | $2.9 trillion |
| 1988 | $2.6 trillion |
| 1987 | $2.4 trillion |
| 1986 | $2.1 trillion |
| 1985 | $1.8 trillion |
| 1984 | $1.6 trillion |
| 1983 | $1.4 trillion |
| 1982 | $1.1 trillion |
| 1981 | $1.0 trillion |
| 1980 | $0.9 trillion |
| 1979 | $0.8 trillion |
| 1978 | $0.8 trillion |
| 1977 | $0.7 trillion |
| 1976 | $0.6 trillion |
| 1975 | $0.5 trillion |
| 1974 | $0.5 trillion |
| 1973 | $0.5 trillion |
| 1972 | $0.4 trillion |
| 1971 | $0.4 trillion |
| 1970 | $0.4 trillion |
| 1969 | $0.4 trillion |
| 1968 | $0.3 trillion |
| 1967 | $0.3 trillion |
| 1966 | $0.3 trillion |
| 1965 | $0.3 trillion |
| 1964 | $0.3 trillion |
| 1963 | $0.3 trillion |
| 1962 | $0.3 trillion |
| 1961 | $0.3 trillion |
| 1960 | $0.3 trillion |
| 1959 | $0.3 trillion |
| 1958 | $0.3 trillion |
| 1957 | $0.3 trillion |
| 1956 | $0.3 trillion |
| 1955 | $0.3 trillion |
| 1954 | $0.3 trillion |
| 1953 | $0.3 trillion |
| 1952 | $0.3 trillion |
| 1951 | $0.3 trillion |
| 1950 | $0.3 trillion |
| 1949 | $0.3 trillion |
| 1948 | $0.3 trillion |