Trump tweets: Media not reporting national debt decrease

President Trump on Saturday morning accused the media of not reporting his success in lowering the national debt compared to former President Obama’s at the start of his term.

“The media has not reported that the National Debt in my first month went down by $12 billion vs a $200 billion increase in Obama first mo,” Trump tweeted early Saturday.

“Great optimism for future of U.S. business, AND JOBS, with the DOW having an 11th straight record close. Big tax & regulation cuts coming!” he added.

The media has not reported that the National Debt in my first month went down by $12 billion vs a $200 billion increase in Obama first mo.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 25, 2017

Great optimism for future of U.S. business, AND JOBS, with the DOW having an 11th straight record close. Big tax & regulation cuts coming!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 25, 2017

{mosads}Trump’s numbers appear to be from a Treasury Department website that lists total outstanding public debt on a day-by-day basis. Pro-Trump conservative blog Gateway Pundit cited the website’s numbers in a post Thursday touting Trump and blasting Obama.

Less than a month after his inauguration in 2009, President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, an economic stimulus package costing $831 billion. The law, a response to the economic recession a year before, was primarily focused on saving jobs and creating new jobs.

The New York Times wrote in February 2009 that Obama banned four accounting gimmicks that President George W. Bush had been using to make deficit projections look smaller, in an effort at transparency. The move had the effect of making spending appear to balloon to a larger degree than was true.

The Council on Foreign Relations wrote Friday that “But based on his campaign pledges, many analysts say Trump’s policies would be likely to significantly widen the budget deficit.”

The council’s report cited Trump’s promises to not cut entitlement spending, ramp up military spending, sign a major infrastructure package and cut corporate and individual taxes.

Trump’s tweet came less than an hour after former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain, appearing on Fox News, said the national debt fell $12 billion. Reporters have noted that Trump often seems to tweet about a new topic shortly after a cable news segment features it.