Most Americans expect Trump to increase US debt

MOST Americans believe President-elect Donald Trump will push the US government deeper into debt in his new term, though most Republicans do not share Democrats’ concerns over his fiscal stewardship, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.

The two-day poll, which closed on Thursday (Nov 7), showed that 62 per cent of respondents – including 94 per cent of Democrats and 34 per cent of Republicans – said it was likely Trump’s policies “will push the US national debt higher.” Trump triumphed in this week’s presidential election after promising tax cuts for businesses, workers and Social Security beneficiaries – as well as higher tariffs on imported goods and mass deportations for immigrants.

Republicans appear set to possibly win control of both chambers of Congress, giving them sweeping powers for the first time since 2017 to ram through a broad agenda which also includes spending cuts and energy deregulation. This will also force them to confront the dilemma of pursuing policies that could undermine the party’s long-proclaimed goal of reining in the government’s US$35 trillion in debt.

Trump’s tax cut proposals could add US$7.5 trillion to the nation’s debt over the next decade, according to the non-partisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

Democrats are more worried about the fiscal outlook under Trump, the poll showed. Some 89 per cent of Democratic respondents said they were concerned by the prospect of Trump pushing the debt higher, compared with 19 per cent of Republicans. Republicans in Congress point to buoyant gains in federal tax receipts since 2017 as proof that Trump’s tax cuts raised revenues, and say his current agenda will bring more of the same. Still, the federal deficit ballooned to US$1.833 trillion in fiscal 2024, as interest on the debt exceeded US$1 trillion for the first time.

The poll, which was conducted online, surveyed 1,471 adults nationwide and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points. REUTERS