President Donald Trump has pledged to reduce the national debt on several occasions. However, the numbers show otherwise, according to reports. The Time reported that the U.S. national debt has reached beyond $39 trillion this week. It has sparked some concerns amid the growing cost of Trump’s war on Iran.
The breakdown, published by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, shows that the U.S. has over $31.3 trillion in public debt, while it has $7.6 trillion in intragovernmental holdings. According to the media outlet, since Trump took office for the second time, the debt has gone up by $2.8 trillion.
💥BREAKING: 🇺🇸 The United States national debt has officially surpassed 39,000,000,000,000.00 dollars.
27% of the U.S. National Debt is from spending under Trump’s presidencies. pic.twitter.com/zRYOmOFprX
— Crypto Rover (@cryptorover) March 18, 2026
The president pledged to reduce the national debt during his first term, when it was around $19 trillion. In April 2016, during his campaign, Trump vowed that if he won the election, he would bring major changes to U.S. trade and foreign policy. “I’m renegotiating all of our deals, the big trade deals that we’re doing so badly on,” he had said.
In 2022, when he announced returning to the presidential race for 2024, the 79-year-old reiterated the same. At that time, Trump said that he would impose “tariffs and taxes on other countries who have taken advantage of the United States and which will make it rich and debt free again.”
However, experts say that he has failed to reduce the national debt. Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, however, was hailed as an effective way of reducing the debt. At that time, the White House said, “Trump’s proven economic formula… will slash our debt down to just 94 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).”
JUST IN: 🇺🇸 US national debt reaches new all-time high of $39 trillion. pic.twitter.com/85EQDetyd4
— Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) March 17, 2026
The administration also insisted that Trump tariffs would further help reduce the national debt. He announced a $2,000 stimulus check for qualifying Americans, which would be paid from the tariff revenue. The president claimed that the left over money would be used to “substantially pay down national debt.”
However, his plans faced major setbacks after the Supreme Court ruled that most of his tariffs were “unlawful.” As the country now grapples with a $39 trillion national debt, Trump’s war on Iran hits its 20th day, sparking concerns over the cost.
According to the Director of the National Economic Council, already $12 billion had already been spent on the joint U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran.
Despite Trump previously saying that the war would “end soon,” there is no clear sight of when it might end. Amid the escalated conflict, on Thursday, March 19, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the Pentagon is requesting White House for an additional $200 billion in funds for the war. He also stated that the figure “could move.”
According to Time, the money already spent on the war could have been used for healthcare for 1.3 billion Americans.
