Fact-check: “The US national debt has doubled in the last 10 years”
Verdict: Mostly True (78% confidence)
The accuracy of this claim depends on which 10-year window you use. Starting from mid-2014, the debt was roughly $17.5 trillion; by mid-2024 it had reached about $35 trillion — that's essentially a doubling. A Fortune article from October 2024 explicitly reported that 'total federal debt has doubled to a benumbing $35.4 trillion' over 10 years. However, if you anchor the 10-year window to 2016 as the starting point, the increase through late 2025 is closer to 91%, just short of a true doubling.…
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