Which presidents have added the most to the US national debt since 2000?

1. Dollars vs. percentages: two ways to name “most”

Analysts measure presidential contributions to debt either in raw dollars (how many dollars were added while a president was in office) or in percentage growth (how much debt rose relative to the starting level). Dollar tallies since 2000 put the most recent presidents at the top because the overall debt base was already large; percentage increases can show different leaders leading the list when starting debt was much smaller ^{[2] [4] [5]}.

2. The data many commentators cite: debt held by the public

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) — a commonly cited fiscal-policy shop — reports that debt held by the public net of cash balances grew by about $6.0 trillion during Donald Trump’s full term and by $6.9 trillion during Joe Biden’s first three years and five months, a metric economists often prefer because it excludes intragovernmental holdings ^[1]. CRFB notes the pandemic, recession and timing of relief bills complicate direct comparisons across administrations ^[1].

3. Gross national debt tallies lift recent presidents even higher

Web outlets that report the gross national debt (the Treasury’s total, which includes intragovernmental debt such as Social Security trust fund holdings) list large dollar increases across the most recent presidents; for example, several consumer and financial sites report multi‑trillion increases under George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Trump and Biden, though their exact dollar figures and cutoffs differ ^{[2] [3] [5]}. The Balance and ConsumerAffairs compiled Treasury figures and conclude that numerically the biggest increases are concentrated among recent presidents — a pattern driven by inflation, rising baseline debt and major policy responses ^{[5] [6]}.

4. Why modern presidents dominate the list: events, policy, and math

Three forces explain why the largest dollar increases since 2000 fall to recent presidents: (a) the starting debt level keeps rising, so a given deficit adds more dollars; (b) major events — wars after 2001, the Great Recession, and the COVID‑19 pandemic plus associated relief bills — required large borrowing; and (c) tax cuts and spending choices influenced deficits differently under each administration ^{[7] [8] [1]}. Commentators emphasize that presidents alone do not control debt — Congress, economic cycles, and crises matter heavily ^[7].

5. Different measures produce different “winners” — pick your yardstick

If you use gross debt (Treasury’s headline number), recent presidents appear to have added the most dollars; if you use debt held by the public (CRFB’s preferred measure), Trump and Biden are the largest adders in dollars in the most recent period covered ^{[1] [5]}. If you compare percentage growth, earlier presidents such as Ronald Reagan stand out because the starting debt was much lower and a given dollar increase represented a larger share ^{[9] [4]}.

6. What reporters and researchers warn about comparisons

Experts and outlets caution that simple comparisons can mislead: the president’s first year includes a budget largely set by their predecessor; emergency spending can spike one administration’s totals; and whether analysts count “approved borrowing” versus actual debt outstanding leads to different results ^{[2] [1] [10]}. CRFB explicitly notes that pandemic timing and Treasury cash balances render growth metrics less straightforward and that multiple ways of measuring are defensible ^[1].

7. Bottom line for your question

Using recent, reputable public analyses: Donald Trump and Joe Biden rank at the top in absolute increases since 2000 when using debt‑by‑public‑holder metrics (roughly $6.0T for Trump’s full term and $6.9T through Biden’s first 3 years and 5 months), and gross‑debt tallies shown by consumer and finance outlets also place recent presidents among the largest adders in raw dollars ^{[1] [5]}. There is no single definitive ranking because the answer depends on whether you use gross vs. public debt, which fiscal endpoints you pick, and how you treat emergency measures ^{[2] [1]}.

If you want, I can produce a short table that applies one consistent metric (Treasury gross debt or debt held by the public) and fixed start/end dates so you can see a side‑by‑side ranking with the original Treasury numbers cited by these sources ^{[11] [1]}.