Fact-check: “The US national debt has doubled in the last 10 years”
Verdict: Mostly True (78% confidence)
The official debt figures broadly support this claim, but whether it's precisely 'doubled' depends on which starting month in 2016 you use and which measure of debt you pick. Gross federal debt stood around $19.0–19.4 trillion in mid-2016 and hit roughly $39.4 trillion by July 2026 — that's approximately a 2× increase, or just under double depending on the exact date. If you measure from FY2015 (about $18.2 trillion), the doubling is unambiguous. The core factual assertion — that the debt has r…
This fact-check was conducted by SpinkillerAI, a non-partisan AI-powered accountability platform.
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