No, the U.S. national debt has not been made zero.
KEY FACTS
• CURRENT DEBT TOTAL: The U.S. national debt surpassed $40 trillion in August 2026.
• TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TREND: Although President Donald Trump campaigned on reducing or eliminating the debt, the national debt has continued to grow. It was around $36.2 trillion when he returned to office in January 2025 and has increased by nearly $4 trillion during his second term.
• HISTORICAL CONTEXT: The only time in U.S. history that the federal government completely paid off the national debt and operated with a zero balance was in January 1835 under President Andrew Jackson.
In May 2023, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predicted that the US would reach the $40 trillion mark in 2028.
WHO DOES THE US OWE MONEY TO?
Public debt borrowed from domestic and foreign investors makes up 80 percent – roughly $32 trillion – of the gross debt, according to Treasury data.
About $21 trillion of this public debt is owed domestically, to a variety of creditors including the Federal Reserve ($4.528 trillion), which buys and sells Treasury securities to influence federal interest rates and manage the money supply, according to analysis by the Peter G Peterson Foundation.
Other creditors are mutual funds ($5.195 trillion), pension funds ($1.135 trillion), state and local governments ($1.636 trillion), commercial banks and depository institutions ($2.083 trillion) and other corporate and individual lenders ($6.660 trillion).
INTERACTIVE-US-DEBT-WHO-OWNS-AUGUST-2026-1787221626
Internationally, the US is in debt to several countries and private investors. In 1970, total foreign debt holders accounted for 5 percent of gross debt, but by 2025, they made up 32 percent. That means while they are helping boost US economic activity, more of the country’s income is being sent abroad in the form of interest payments.
By 2025, the US owed Japan $1.203 trillion, the United Kingdom ($889bn), China ($683bn), as well as owing more than 30 other entities.
INTERACTIVE-US-DEBT-FOREIGN-OWNED-AUGUST-2026-1787221630
Separately, another 20 percent of the gross national debt – about $8 trillion – is owed intra-governmentally and therefore does not affect overall finances.
WHAT DOES RISING DEBT MEAN FOR THE US ECONOMY?
Analysts say the rising debt could potentially create an economic crisis for the US, in the form of hyperinflation or higher interest rates, for example, if it goes unchecked.
As more debt piles on, there is a growing risk that private investment will fall because of safety concerns, and as a consequence, economic growth could slow down.
“We’re already paying the cost. This debt is slowing growth, pushing up interest rates, and worsening inflation,” Riedl of Brookings said.
In 2026, the US is expected to spend 19 percent of federal tax revenues on interest payments. That share is expected to rise to 20 percent in a decade and 50 percent in three decades, “even under the rosiest scenarios,” she added. “The longer we wait to make the difficult fiscal decisions, the more painful and drastic those reforms will be.”
Lawmakers may eventually be forced to respond with painful austerity measures such as higher taxes, analysts say. Social safety net programmes could also be at risk.
It could take years to resolve, experts warn, and the consequences could be intergenerational, with young people forced to pay more for many years.
THE REST OF THE WORLD WOULD BE AFFECTED TOO: THE US IS A CORNERSTONE OF THE GLOBAL ECONOMY, and a crisis there will likely hurt global markets.
The first correcting step, MacGuineas of CRFB said, is to commit to zero new borrowing immediately. Lawmakers must also set up a bipartisan fiscal commission to scrutinise the issues, she said. With a commitment to keep taxes low and reduce spending, while also engaging in a hugely expensive war in the Middle East, this may be difficult to achieve, analysts say.
The grim outlook is not 🚫 just a gloomy forecast of where the world is going to governmentally, religiously and financially into an apocalyptic situation where it is impossible to recover, by the different people of experts from the world who are warning ⚠️ the world, but primarily from the Scripture that speaks about it, when God will judge the world before Armageddon and through it bring a New World 🌍 of righteousness and justice ⚖️ with a rod of iron for the rebels, to rule the earth through Jesus Christ and the Church for a thousand years time for the Glory of God. Glory to God 🙏🏽
God has promised to take the Church to the New Jerusalem City of God, before the Great Tribulation will start upon the whole world as a judgment and resettle the Church in the New Heaven and New Earth.
WATCH AND PRAY TO ESCAPE THE GREAT TRIBULATION THAT IS COMING UPON THE WHOLE WORLD THROUGH RAPTURE ‼️ 🙏🏽 ✝️ 🔥
Much Blessings.....
Those of you WHO WANT TO KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO USA AND HOW THE WHOLE WORLD SYSTEM WILL END IN THIS GENERATION, Read my following article titled, 'THE LAST ROMANS' 👇🏽:
Posts
