Republicans drive up the federal deficit.
Posted by IHIP News, Checked
- Sources
- 3 contradict2 support4 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 50%
IHIP NewsAug 27, 2026
The sources support the claim in some measures and contradict it in others: Republican presidencies are associated with larger absolute deficits and about 63% of enacted fiscal damage, but Republican presidents show similar or slightly smaller deficits relative to GDP in other studies, and Republican Congresses are assigned less responsibility than Democratic ones.
What was said
… You never have been able to, because your whole political record is as follows: lies. Say that we're so great with the economy. "I have to vote Republican because I'm in business." Republicans are notorious losers when it comes to business. They drive up the deficit, they give all of the rich people unnecessary, undeserving tax breaks, they start wars, people die. Now they're deregulating everything. We've got people dropping dead of, uh, measles. We've got we're buying contaminated beef from Argentina. …
IHIP News · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. Mercatus attributes about 65% of the current imbalance to periods of Democratic control of both houses of Congress and about 29% to Republican control, while noting that more than 63% of fiscal damage was enacted under Republican presidencies.[3][4]
Contradicts. A Springer political-economy study of 1946–2019 finds Republican presidents oversaw deficits similar to Democrats' in differences-in-means tests, and slightly lower debt, though average deficit-to-GDP was modestly larger under Republicans.[5]
Supports. Snopes found that in absolute terms the deficit deepened under every Republican president since Reagan, rating a related meme Mostly True while noting that Congress, not the president alone, sets the budget.[1]
Supports. NYT reports that the FY2026 deficit neared $2 trillion and says President Trump and Republicans contributed significantly through a 2025 tax reduction package.[6]
Context. Reuters, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo describe rising deficits persisting across Republican, Democratic and split control, with both parties' policies contributing to the shortfall.[2][7][8]
Context. CNN notes that both parties have contributed to the debt over time and that blame is difficult to assign fairly.[9]
Sources
9 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 6 not rated, 1 tier 2
- 1US deficit has grown under GOP presidents, shrunk under ... - Snopessnopes.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2Partisan shutdown standoff ignores key risk to US stability: rising national debtreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 3Why We Have Federal Deficits: 2026 Update | Mercatus Centermercatus.org · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 4Insight into how the federal debt happenedstripes.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 5The political economy of fiscal responsibility | Public ...link.springer.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 6U.S. Budget Deficit Nears $2 Trillion, a Reality Check for Trump's Cost Cuttingnytimes.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 72026 Midterms | Wells Fargo Investment Institutewellsfargoadvisors.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 8The Midterms can change spending, but not America's ...privatebank.jpmorgan.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 9Here’s what happened to the federal debt under past presidents – and why it’s hard to cast blame | CNN Politicsedition.cnn.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
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