The $7 Trillion Lie: Palin Falsely Claims Debt Has Grown More Under Obama Than ‘All Other Presidents Combined’

By Judd Legum

Sarah Palin, in the only interview she’s granted during her “One Nation” bus tour, claimed that the U.S. federal debt had grown more under Obama than “all those other presidents combined.”

Watch it:

This is flatly false. When Obama took office the debt stood at $10.6 trillion. After inheriting two wars and the worst economy since the Great Depression, the debt has grown by $3.7 trillionsince Obama has been in office. Palin is off by about $7 trillion.

So not only has the debt not increased more under Obama than all other Presidents combined, it has increased less under Obama than our last president, George W. Bush. Under President Bush, who inherited a $236 billion budget surplus from President Clinton, the deficit increased by $4.9 trillion.