The economy was a central topic during the presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. While Biden described the American economy as being “in freefall,” 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 with the economy and that the U.S. was on track to pay down its national debt before the pandemic. However, this was not accurate as budget deficits were actually increasing under Trump due to his 2017 tax cuts not paying for themselves. The deficit had grown from $584 billion to $984 billion in 2019 and then exceeded $3 trillion in 2020 after the pandemic hit.
According to a May Gallup poll, about 3 in 10 Americans believed that the economy was the most important problem facing the country. Economic issues such as high cost of living, inflation, immigration, and poor government leadership were also cited by Americans as top concerns.
Both Biden and Trump made factual errors during the debate. Biden initially claimed he had created 15,000 jobs, but the correct number was over 15 million. He also misstated the cost of an insulin shot, saying it was $15 when the actual capped cost was $35 for older Americans on Medicare. Trump incorrectly stated that the U.S. was ready to reduce its national debt before
