Is U.S. national debt behind all the chaos Trump is injecting? America’s national debt has climbed to $38.5 trillion, pushing interest costs higher and squeezing the American Dream

U.S. national debt officially reached a record $38.5 trillion in January 2026. Federal borrowing is accelerating at a rate of $8 billion per day, far outpacing previous economic forecasts. A primary driver is the skyrocketing cost of servicing this debt. Quarterly interest payments hit $276 billion in late 2025, with annual interest now exceeding $1 trillion. This fiscal weight is slowing GDP growth toward 1.5%.