In Donald Trump’s speech, personalities loomed large. Whether it was George Washington’s second-best presidency or Elon Musk’s brilliant work at the Department of Government Efficiency or Joe Biden’s disastrous egg statesmanship, Trump’s perspective was just a bit cracked. But on one subject, the whole dozen fell out of the cart and smashed on the floor.
Donald Trump promised his administration is going to balance the budget. “And in the near future, I want to do what has not been done in 24 years: balance the federal budget,” Trump said. “We are going to balance it.”
Not since Bill Clinton’s “boob bait for bubbas” has there been a lie so contemptuous of its audience and so utterly disconnected from reality. Not since the meaning of “is” was up for debate has a one syllable word, in this case “near,” carried so much weight. Wait, not even then.
Donald Trump’s actual policy is to take the federal budget as far away from balance as any president with a tiny congressional majority possibly could. He said it right there in his speech for anyone who can do the maths. Let me count the ways.
1: “And the next phase of our plan to deliver the greatest economy in history is for this Congress to pass tax cuts for everybody,” he said. The cost of the tax cuts already in his budget passed by Congress: $4.6 trillion ($4,600,000,000,000).