Post Context

Gross debt was $39.83 trillion as of August 5, 2026, per the Senate Joint Economic Committee — not $40 trillion yet, that milestone is projected for around August 31.

Comparing each president to the debt they left behind (not to today's much larger total) gives a fairer picture than the post's framing:

President	Term(s)	Debt at start → end	Added	Share of debt at end of their term
G.H.W. Bush	1989–93	$2.857T → $4.411T	$1.55T	35.2%
Clinton	1993–2001	$4.411T → $5.807T	$1.4T	24.0%
G.W. Bush	2001–09	$5.807T → $10.627T	$4.8T	45.4%
Obama	2009–17	$10.627T → $19.947T	$9.3T	46.7%
Trump (1st term)	2017–21	$19.947T → ~$27.8T	$7.9T	28.2%
Biden	2021–25	~$27.8T → $36.2T	$8.4T	23.2%
Trump (2nd term, ongoing)	2025–present	$36.2T → $39.83T	$3.6T so far	9.1% so far, vs. current total

By this measure, both George W. Bush (45.4%) and Obama (46.7%) left office having added a larger share of the debt than either of Trump's terms. Trump's two terms combined come to $11.5T — 28.8% of today's $39.83T, close to the "28.6%" the post cites. That figure appears to add Trump's two non-consecutive terms together, then compare the combined total to 45 individual presidents, most of whom served only one term — a framing that overstates how unusual his share actually is.

Sources:

• JEC Monthly Debt Update — current debt total, $40T projection
• Ballotpedia: federal debt figures — $10.627T (Jan 2009) and $19.947T (Jan 2017), sourced to Treasury
• The Balance: US debt by president — $2.857T (1989), $4.411T (1993), $5.807T (2001)
• LegalClarity: national debt by president — Trump term 1, Biden, Trump term 2 figures