During the CNN presidential debate, the economy was a central topic of discussion, with Joe Biden highlighting the economic challenges facing the country while Trump boasted about the state of the economy during his time in office. However, Trump’s claims were not entirely accurate.
Despite Trump’s assertions that everything was going well economically and that the US was on track to pay off its national debt before the pandemic, budget deficits have actually increased under his administration due to the 2017 tax cuts not generating enough revenue as promised. This contradicts Trump’s claim that the economy was in good shape before the pandemic. In fact, budget deficits reached over $3 trillion in 2020 after the pandemic hit.
According to a May Gallup poll, about 3 in 10 Americans identified the economy as the most important issue facing the country, although that included a wide range of economic concerns. In addition, about 1 in 1 Americans specifically cited high cost of living or inflation as top problems. Immigration and poor government management were also cited as significant issues by 2 in 10 Americans.
Both candidates made factual errors during the debate. Biden falsely claimed to have created 15,000 jobs when in fact there were more than 15 million. He also misstated out-of-pocket cost of insulin which was actually capped at $35 for older Americans on Medicare due to legislation signed by President Biden. Trump’s claim that US was on track to pay off its national debt before pandemic has been debunked as budget deficits increased during his administration.
In conclusion, while both candidates highlighted different aspects of