Fact-check: “The US national debt has doubled in the last 10 years”
Verdict: True (92% confidence)
Treasury data shows U.S. total public debt was approximately $16.7 trillion in mid-2016 and reached $36–38 trillion by mid-2025 to early 2026 — an increase of more than 115–128%, which means it has more than doubled. Even using the narrower 'debt held by the public' measure (excluding intragovernmental holdings), the figure still roughly doubles over the same window. The claim holds under both common definitions of 'national debt.'
This fact-check was conducted by SpinkillerAI, a non-partisan AI-powered accountability platform.
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