During the presidential debate on CNN, the economy was a major topic of discussion. Joe Biden described the American economy as being in a state of freefall, while Trump boasted about the economic progress he had made during his time in office and his handling of the pandemic.
While 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, this was not entirely accurate. 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.
A May Gallup poll showed that about 3 in 10 Americans believed that the economy was their top concern, with economic issues such as high cost of living, inflation, immigration, and poor government leadership also cited by Americans as significant 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 the pandemic, which was not entirely accurate due to increasing budget deficits during his term.
In conclusion, both candidates presented different perspectives on