Fact-check: “The US national debt has doubled in the last 10 years”
Verdict: Mostly True (90% confidence)
The claim is substantially accurate. Gross federal debt stood at roughly $19.9 trillion at end-2016 and reached $38.4 trillion by December 2025 — an increase of about 93%, just shy of a clean doubling. A Fortune article from October 2024 stated directly that 'total federal debt has doubled to a benumbing $35.4 trillion,' and a Reason article from April 2026 noted the debt 'has doubled' over the 10-year period. The exact math lands a few percentage points short of 100% depending on the precise s…
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