JD Vance Faults Biden as U.S. Debt Tops $40 Trillion
The national debt has now crossed $40 trillion, and Vice President JD Vance says the blame belongs to the last administration.
In an appearance on Newsmax, Vance said: "Even though the debt is too high, even though we inherited this debt bomb from the Biden administration, we actually do have a plan to get the economy growing faster than the debt."
Vance argued that under President Biden "the debt was growing faster than American GDP," and he called that "the problem." His case is that the way out is faster economic growth, which would shrink the debt compared to the size of the economy, rather than relying only on spending cuts or tax increases that are hard to pass in a closely divided Congress. It is an argument Republicans have made for decades: grow the economy and the debt becomes easier to carry.
The numbers show both parties added a lot. According to a Reuters report, the U.S. debt rose by $8.4 trillion during Biden's four-year term. It has risen by $11.6 trillion under President Trump's two terms so far, a figure that includes the emergency pandemic spending approved in 2020 with support from both parties. Biden's term included more pandemic relief as well as major spending bills on infrastructure and energy.
That comparison drew heavy pushback online, with many users saying they are tired of each side blaming the other while the total keeps climbing. Supporters of the administration answer that growth policies take time to show results, and that much of the spending path was locked in before Trump returned to office in 2025. They also point out that a large share of federal spending runs on autopilot, no matter who sits in the White House.
The bigger issue is the cost of carrying the debt. Interest payments have become one of the largest items in the federal budget, competing with defense and programs like Medicare and Social Security. Every dollar that goes to interest is a dollar that does not go to roads, the military or tax relief. Higher interest rates over the last few years have made that burden grow faster than many economists expected.
The politics are just as stubborn as the math. Cutting the programs that drive long-term spending is unpopular with voters in both parties, and raising taxes is off the table for most Republicans. That leaves growth as the main hope, which is exactly the bet Vance is describing.
Neither party has shown much appetite for the hard choices that would actually reduce the total, and the next milestone is already in sight. The debt went from $30 trillion to $40 trillion in less than five years.
Forty trillion dollars works out to well over $100,000 for every person in the country.
Vance made the comments shortly after the debt passed the $40 trillion mark.
Who do you blame most for the $40 trillion debt? Drop your answer below.
