Fact-check: “Public debt in the U.S. now exceeds $40 trillion dollars”
Verdict: True (95% confidence)
Treasury Department daily data shows total public debt outstanding (gross federal debt, including both debt held by the public and intragovernmental holdings) reached $40,047,425,768,420.22 on August 18, 2026 — the first time it crossed $40 trillion. Multiple independent outlets citing Treasury's daily statement confirmed this figure, and subsequent data shows it has remained above $40 trillion since then. The narrower 'debt held by the public' measure is around $32.3 trillion, not $40 trillion…
This fact-check was conducted by SpinkillerAI, a non-partisan AI-powered accountability platform.
Related fact-checks
- Donald Trump Jr accepted a gift from a Russian oligearch — True
- European Union plans 200 million Euro investment in Greenland as a response to Trump's posturing — Mostly True
- Approximately 45% of the current Canadian population is made up of immigrants and the children of immigrants — Mostly True
- Recent job numbers increased faster than had been expected and are ahead of most analysts expectations — Partly True
- Medicare for all would cost trillions a year that Americans would pay through higher income taxes — Partly True