The economy was the main focus of CNN’s presidential debate, with Joe Biden describing it as being “in freefall” while Trump boasted about the state of the economy during his time in office and his handling of the pandemic. Trump claimed that everything was going well and the U.S. economy was on track to pay down its national debt before the pandemic, but this was not accurate. Budget deficits actually increased during Trump’s presidency due to his tax cuts not generating enough revenue as promised.
According to the White House Office of Management and Budget, Trump inherited a budget deficit of $585 billion, which grew to $984 billion in 2019 and surpassed $3 trillion in 2020 after the pandemic hit. In a May Gallup poll, about 3 in 10 Americans cited the economy as the most pressing issue facing the country, while 1 in 10 specifically mentioned the high cost of living or inflation. Other top concerns included immigration and poor government leadership.
During the debate, both Biden and Trump made factual errors. Biden significantly underestimated the number of jobs created during his leadership, claiming it was 15,000 instead of over 15 million. He also wrongly stated the cost of insulin, which had been capped at $35 for older Americans on Medicare due to the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. Trump also inaccurately claimed that the economy was poised to pay down the national debt before the pandemic, ignoring the significant deficits that had accumulated during his time in office.