body { -ms-overflow-style: scrollbar; overflow-y: scroll; overscroll-behavior-y: none; } .errorContainer { background-color: #FFF; color: #0F1419; max-width: 600px; margin: 0 auto; padding: 10%; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; } .errorButton { margin: 3em 0; } .errorButton a { background: #1DA1F2; border-radius: 2.5em; color: white; padding: 1em 2em; text-decoration: none; } .errorButton a:hover, .errorButton a:focus { background: rgb(26, 145, 218); } .errorFooter { color: #657786; font-size: 80%; line-height: 1.5; padding: 1em 0; } .errorFooter a, .errorFooter a:visited { color: #657786; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 1em; } .errorFooter a:hover, .errorFooter a:active { text-decoration: underline; } #placeholder, #react-root { display: none !important; } body { background-color: #FFF !important; }

JavaScript is not available.

We’ve detected that JavaScript is disabled in this browser. Please enable JavaScript or switch to a supported browser to continue using x.com. You can see a list of supported browsers in our Help Center.

Terms of Service Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Imprint Ads info © 2025 X Corp.

To view keyboard shortcuts, press question mark
View keyboard shortcuts

Post

Conversation

Every Democrat since Carter has decreased the deficit. Every Republican since Eisenhower has increased the deficit.

Quote

Sarah Longwell

@SarahLongwell25

Apr 30

Roughly 50% of the reason I became a Republican was I genuinely believe our national debt is an emergency and a national security risk. But after living some life it is clear to me that Republicans only talk about lowering the debt, they don’t actually do it. x.com/cbsnews/status…

8:33 AM · Apr 30, 2025

1.2M

Views

David Watson 🥑

Post your reply

Resilient Promise Esquire

@CrimsonEsquire

Eisenhower deserves a lot more scorn than he gets. So what if his parting speech warned about the dangers of the military industrial complex? His 8 years as president was spent supporting it. He elevated the Christian right Nixon was his freaking VP! He was complicit in all of it

I know essentially nothing about the Eisenhower presidency. Any recommendations to learn?

@AlastairGrayson

Presidents don't create budgets. But nice try.

Actually the executive branch is the one who creates budgets. What you meant to say was that it's the legislative branch that passes the budget.

Carlos E. Perez

Why? Republicans lie about reducing the deficit and do the reverse by untaxing the wealthy. Democrats lie about spending more for the public and do the reverse? What's going on?

But every president since Calvin Coolidge, Republican and Democrat, has increased the debt.

Dave, Aspiring Peasant

@aspiringpeasant

they don't like math or charts or facts just vibes

@Individual2024

Deficit’s not the problem. Spending is (which creates deficit problems in the future). These aren’t outcomes that happen simultaneously. Bad economic policies often take short term gains for long term pain. You can’t judge today’s economic policies by what is happening now, which

@Empireenjoyer11

Aren’t you guys pro government spending? You also realize that control of the House and Senate also matter here right? Obama had a Republican Senate.

I guess they don’t teach “correlation does not imply causation” in engineering school

@JohnRileyPoway

and still the DEBT is approx 50% from GOP POTUS and 50% from DEM POTUS.

Doesn't the legislative branch approve spending?

Quote

Charlie Kirk

@charliekirk11

Mar 25

Former Squad member, Rep Cori Bush, tells other former Rep. Jamaal Bowman that Dems were planning on a $10 trillion bill to "fight climate change." Thank God America was saved from this insanity.

Both Democrats and Republicans have increased the deficit except during Clinton in his 2nd term. But the Republicans have increased it at a higher rate overall.

Launch! - Blue Haired Liberal

*Since Hoover.

@Ron4California

Gee, what happened in 2021? Any context you’d like to share?

Well that’s changing right before our eyes, isn’t it.

I wonder if taxes increased in those times as well.

What's it like living in a context free world? 1) You've ignored control of Congress 2) If you double the price of items in a store and then hang a "20% Off!" sign, did prices go up or down?

🤦‍♂️

GIF

Using fuzzy budget math

Republicans are the brake party when they are out of power and the Democrats are a yes and party when they out. Also keep in mind democrats mostly controllled the legislature until Clinton. So they were complicit for the most part.

Every single one has still piled on debt. None of its working.

The Redshirt Pundit

@redshirtpundit

“The deficit”

It’s unfortunate we’ve gotten so tribal. There’s a lot to this chart beyond “republicans bad” but we’ll never learn from it.

GovernmentDrone

@IanSandova46222

I did get taxes a lot the past few years

Friends call me Dave

False.

Fiat

Clinton created a surplus and the national debt would have been paid off over a decade ago if not For Bush.

That is false

Rafael Wolf - Michigan 8

Now post the same chart overlaid with which party controlled Congress, you know the branch that makes the budget. Oh, and it might be a little clearer if you add a few key events that might influence spending - 9-11, COVID, Bank crash, end of Cold War...

Covid

Congress controls the budget. Show the chart with which party controls the house and senate--it would be more honest.

@KeeperofReal16

That's misleading due to some atypical events (peace dividend after Cold War, 2009 crash, COVID). The long term trend is Dems wanting to spend on forever programs that break the budget and Repubs fighting them.

Rup

Part-Time Idea Generator (formerly Susoporino)

Lots of truth hides in data, and lots of lies misappropriate data. What about Democrat administrations directly caused the decrease in deficits? We need to know this so we can pick the right primary candidates?

2020, the deficit was $3.1 trillion, more than triple the $983.6 billion in 2019, largely due to pandemic-related spending. The deficit then decreased to $1.7 trillion in FY 2023. For the first half of FY 2025, the deficit reached $1.3 trillion, the second highest for the first

Big problem with your statement. Presidents don't control the purse strings.

Now, look at the congress when those presidents were in office. It sinks the narrative you are trying to push.

Biden just ran the highest peace time deficits in the history of the United States. This is a silly statement. Your graph should also be as a function of GDP .

Realist Vanguard

To be fair to 45, the deficit was stagnant on this graph until COVID. Can’t really fault him for that event.

JazzyPhoneCases

@mentalshirtsco

Deficit comes from the Fed printing money to bail out big business, banks and prop up Wall St. This has not been a one party issue since no one controls the Fed. Right now Trump is trying to force the Feds hand but the main stream media and Democrats are making it hard for him.

@richardrahl1086

Deficits large or small are still increasing the debt, dipshit.

Perfect example of manipulation of graphics.

Compelling content for those with a room temp IQ.

This phenomena is due to Republicans in Congress (which controls the budget) only being fiscal conservatives where there is a Democrat president. Democrats in Congress are never fiscal conservatives so it doesn't work the other way around.

Moonshine Machiavelli

@abendlander007

No president has had the balls to outlaw usury

the deficit itself has increased every year under every president except the one year in the mid 90’s when newt gingrich was able to balance the budget

Wrong I think you missed Biden’s deficit

Good thing Trumpocrats are running the country this time

The deficit is irrelevant. It is the debt that will sink the economy. Playing with the deficit is rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Neither party has done anything significant to address the debt. Democrats do not want to and they believe it does not matter Republicans

Irwin M Fletcher, Esq.

@woodifitweretru

Is Congress responsible for spending, or is the President?

Butch hutchison

@Anthony13304222

Congress makes the laws Moron not the president

well. you get a dem to create this bubble and this bubble has to pop eventually? Take clinton for example. Those were the worst american days of my life because of his policies and then the bubble popped after he left.

And your point is to continue to let other countries take advantage of us?

How much shit created last four years

Those fiscally sound Democrats, gotta love them!

GIF

Such a smooth-brain, low IQ analysis of the matter. Completely ignoring relevant context. Gosh? What happened at the end of the Trump 45 Presidency and how odd tax revenues increase after lockdowns are dropped

John ''The Bomb'' McDon

Earnest question, Is there a delay between when a federal budget is passed and when its impact on the deficit is reflected, or can we directly attribute deficits to the administration in power at the time?

Quote

David Doney

@David_Charts

Apr 8

Replying to @David_Charts

Budget deficits increased for every Republican but Eisenhower, and fell under every Democrat but Kennedy. Who is the party of fiscal responsibility? Hint: Team Blue. 2/

@ryanscottborman

Now redo this using the party controlling Congress, or more accurately the house.

Plasticolicious, MD

@plasticolicious

Democrats increase spending. They give a fictitious, short term solution, that on paper looks good, but isn’t sustainable. Then a Republican has to come in to course correct and take the hit. Republicans think more about long term economic outcomes.

@BrainyMarsupial

fact check

Stardust Redding

@StardustRedding

Congrats y’all being played

Burner McBurney (Not Stephen Jones)

@burner_mcburney

Totally agree with the principle of what you’re saying; however, a separate but legitimate problem is that we talk about “reducing the deficit” as if it is reducing the debt, but it’s not. Until someone runs a surplus we’re cooked.

It’s because regardless of their misleading rhetoric, the GOP quietly realize the debt is neither an emergency nor a security threat in a country that controls its own debt based money system.

Who was in control of the house and senate? Biden did not reduce the deficit. Also, this late change by Biden is going to expand the SS shortfalls going forward.

Clinton: Since the end of the cold war in 1989, America has created about 51 million new jobs. I swear, I checked this three times. Even I cannot believe it. What's the score? Democrats 50, Republicans 1.

From

I like how she's bought into the idea that the so-called national debt is a national security risk.

small but important difference: *decreased the rate at which the deficit increased

This has been true for as long as I've been alive. Why have Dems never talked about it before? Like literally this year, is when I first saw this graph.

General Trelane, retired

@GeneralTrelane1

Yeah, she lost me. One of the reasons I became a Democrat was I care about the national debt

Exactly The true reason for republicanism

The end of Trump's first administration was a financial disaster. He is continuing that disaster now.

The advantage of the graph is that one can see how much is driven by the timing of recessions. Is there some cosmic reason why the financial crisis started in 2008 and not 2009? Why COVID started in 2020, not 2021? Does this prove Republicans are stupid? No. It’s a coincidence.

And?

@tommi_jans17716

Does correlation mean causality? Is there something happening during those low peaks which could be explaining these? Like desert storm, WTC, Finance crisis, Corona or are those irrelevant?

Steven C. Svekis

@SSSSvekisSports

Wait till you do job creation since 1989, when Reagan left office....lol

@SarahLongwell25

hey soooooo…?

This time it’s going to be a doozy

Mohini Of Investing

Can explain

Every Republican since Eisenhower has increased the deficit.

Bret Bielema Truther

does this have anything to do with tax increases during the same time periods

Fuq prez Trusk Sideways With A Chainsaw!

At least Ike has some crumbling infrastructure to show for his spending.

That’s a cool take on words. Reducing the deficit while increasing the debt. Mmkay I bought a 60k last week when I originally wanted a 77k one. Yes, I reduced me deficit but I certainly still increased my debt.

Remember when baby Bush pissed away all Clinton’s savings? I do.

Can't wait to revisit this in 4 years.

Most Republicans love wars and defense spending, it's expensive stuff

The fact that there is a deficit means the national debt is being added to. Reducing the deficit is NOT the same as reducing the national debt. Not that either party has come close to that.

Correlation doesn't equal.... I won't finish because you know that but still chose to post this

Deficits are a myth.

@StephanieKelton

MiddleGroundPlz

@MiddleGroundPlz

Explain to him how he is completely full of BS.

@RebekkaAdams198

Trump only due to Covid. Obama was starting from the bottom of the Great Recession. Bush ended with the recession- if 07 diff story. One years don’t tell the story. Every president increased spending and income.

Radical Centrist

The GOP has proven best at cutting regulations, taxes, and the IRS to benefit the wealthy. Cutting deficits and debt for the country? Nope.

Or,…. Every Democrat leaves the US in such a precarious state that it requires spending a ton of money to get out of.

Have you heard of Joe Biden?

@MadMidwestMark

Democrats won't ever cut spending. It was Republicans who pushed Clinton to do so.

Why is decreasing the deficit a good thing? That takes money out of the economy.

Looks like republicans fix the economy and then democrats take it over and take credit only to ruin the economy and have a Republican take office again to preside over the ashes.

Government spending is baked into GDP so they can call tyranny and endless state expansion "growth" while any amount of government rollback is labeled as a recession. Makes sense why the party pushing bigger government always "reduces" the deficit.

How? Giving illegals more food allowance decreases budget deficit? Or like what Biden did, selling half of our Strategic Petroleum Reserve for government funding, eventually for importing more illegals?

Responded to a comment from

on this thread briefly, but wanted to address this popular Democrat claim in further detail. And since it's become popular to use

to support arguments from various sides, I decided to test that with this question... 1/2 or 1/3?

Oh, so covid was Trump's fault. I'm so sick of this talking point. It's only used by disingenuous people that are not worth listening to.

Benjamin Gramley

Fun fact that he’s too partisan to say is that Bill Clinton bounced the budget primarily because he had to work with a Republican Congress, and Newt Gingrich was a tour de force at that time.

@voiceoffcamera

It’s clear as day over the last 35 years.

Clarence Sparrow

- The X post by Patrick Heizer claims that every Democratic president since Carter reduced the deficit, while every Republican since Eisenhower increased it, using a chart showing the U.S. budget balance as a percentage of GDP from 1955 to 2025, highlighting declines

only 2 presidents have lowered the us debt, so just blaming the right is bias and only half of the real story. do better

@Olebuckethead1

Pretending dems are fiscally responsible while republicans aren’t is some gaslighting nonsense. Neither party has cut spending in decades

Obama doubled the debt from 7 to 15 trillion... You can't do that without blowing out the deficit

@RoweCrowbird213

Clinton did DOGE. 450k federal workers were let go. So Democrats are now pro DOGE?

explain why Democrats hate DOGE and keep voting to increase spending and national debt?