Trump disgraced: “US debt in eight years to reduce to zero” – SPIEGEL ONLINE

The US presidential campaign has yet another megalomaniacal assertion. In an interview with the “Washingston Post” (text) promises Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, remove the US debt in record time.

“We have to get rid of the $ 19 trillion debt,” Trump said in the interview with this reporter Robert Costa and the investigative journalist Bob Woodward, who played in the seventies at the unveiling Watergate a leading role.

“How long would that take?” Asked Woodward.

Trump: “I think I could do that fairly quickly when the numbers …”

Woodward: “What’s pretty fast”

Trump: “Well, I think over a period of eight years.”

In order to achieve its objective, will the US billionaire trade agreements with China, Mexico and Japan and other countries to renegotiate, boosting the economy. He wanted to make all countries that “completely destroy” the United States, Trump said. But the trade deficit with China amounted to $ 505 billion last year.

“His claims do simple mathematics was not”

The “Washington Post” called Trumps promise in a comment as “bizarre”. “His claims do simple mathematics was not,” writes the newspaper. The’m starting with the fact that the trade deficit with China does not lie at 505 billion dollars but at 366 bln. The complete US trade deficit amounts to $ 531 billion. Additional commercial revenues would also not 1: 1 land in the US government

In addition’ve Trump, the budget deficit is not considered by the swell the US debt within eight years on – on up to 26 trillion.. Tax cuts that Trump has also announced and which would result in additional annual cost of over a trillion dollars are, this does not even include.

As far as the cost side. On the plus side it looks hardly better: Even if Trump would completely freeze all government spending on such important items such as military, road or internal security until 2024, came together only ten trillion dollars in savings, writes the “Washington Post” in a facts check.

And even for the utopian event that this complete state blockade of the US economy would not harm the economy and – as announced by Trump – grows stronger should come together only additional income of around four trillion to 2024th

Trump would then still missing twelve trillion. At least.

“In all impossible assertions that Trump has made ranking, is the announcement that he could pay off the national debt in just eight years, almost at the top,” writes the “Washington Post”.

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