FACT CHECK #PER4NQCH

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What you submitted

WHAT WE FOUND

Hello! I've looked into the data for you, and it turns out this claim is TRUE. Based on records from the last 50 years, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden are the only three presidents to successfully reduce the federal budget deficit during their time in office 13. To give you a little more detail, Bill Clinton famously achieved a 150% decrease, eventually turning the deficit into a budget surplus by the time he left office 46. Barack Obama also oversaw a significant reduction, inherited a large deficit during the financial crisis and leaving with a much lower one 24. More recently, Joe Biden has been recognized as the third president in this timeframe to achieve a similar reduction 13. In contrast, historical data shows that the deficit generally increased under Republican presidents over the same period, including Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush 26. While nearly every president experiences a record deficit at some point 5, only these three Democratic presidents managed to exit with a lower deficit than when they entered 2.

SOURCES

1. 1 · newsweek.comFACT-CHECKER
   Fact Check: Joe Biden, Barack Obama, and Bill Clinton Lower ...

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2. 2 · usatoday.comFACT-CHECKER
   Fact check: Meme lacks context about Clinton, Obama, federal deficit

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3. 3 · snopes.comFACT-CHECKER
   US deficit has grown under GOP presidents, shrunk ... - Snopes.com

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4. 4 · amarkfoundation.orgWEB
   U.S. Presidents and the Federal Deficit - A-Mark Foundation

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5. 5 · investopedia.comWEB
   U.S. Presidents With the Largest Budget Deficits - Investopedia

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6. 6 · politifact.comFACT-CHECKER
   Here's how the deficit performed under Republican and Democratic ...

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7. 7 · congress.govACADEMIC
   “Assessing the Election 'Audit' in Arizona and Threats to American ...

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8. 8 · en.wikipedia.orgWEB
   Bill Clinton - Wikipedia

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