The Dispatch
· collected 2026-08-25 · by Steve Hayes, Jonah Goldberg, Kevin D. Williamson, Michael Warren
The US national debt has reached $40 trillion, according to recent news. The article discusses the issue with a panel of experts from the Dispatch, including Jonah Goldberg and Kevin Williamson. The key aspect is that entitlement spending is cited as one factor contributing to the country's debt problem. In terms of numbers, the specific figure mentioned is $40 trillion, which represents the current national debt level.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-25,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
The US national debt has surpassed $40 trillion, reaching $40.047 trillion on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Treasury Department, marking the highest level of debt in US history. It took nearly 200 years for America's gross debt to reach $1 trillion for the first time in 1981, said Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. The government deficit has doubled over the last decade, and $8.4 trillion of debt was added during Donald Trump's first term, while $4.3 trillion was added under Joe Biden's presidency. $1.8 trillion in new debt has been added since October 2025, with a significant portion going towards tariff refunds totaling $100 billion, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. Experts warn that this high level of debt could lead to a loss of confidence in the US government and higher interest rates, potentially signaling expectations of higher inflation or even a global sovereign debt retrenchment.
Written for “US National Debt Crisis” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 5 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
Leaning score +0.35 for article 2227 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-08-27
Steve Hayes is joined by Jonah Goldberg, Kevin Williamson, and Mike Warren to discuss the U.S. crossing the $40 trillion debt threshold and the prospect of “growing our way out of it.”
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U.S. → join → it
The Agenda:
—Kevin explains how we got here
—Entitlement spending
—What would Paul Ryan do
—The DOGE effort
—Growing our way out of debt
—NWYT: Adulthood disappointments
Show notes:
[intro music]
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Ryan → explain → debt
On today's roundtable, we'll discuss the US national debt hitting 40 10000000000 dollars, how we got here, who's to blame, and the prospect of growing our way out of our debt problem, or as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent would have it, growing our way out of our debt problem with tariffs.
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Bessent → discuss → tariffs
I'm joined today by the Dispatch's Editor-in-chief, Jonah Goldberg, National Correspondent Kevin Williamson, and Politics Editor Mike Warren.
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I → join → chief
Let's dive right in.
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's → let → ?
We had the unpleasant news last week that the United States had passed 40 10000000000 dollars in debt threshold.
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States → have → threshold
We seem to be passing these huge thresholds, maybe not the round even numbers like 40 10000000000 dollars, but the new 1000000000, we seem to be passing these more regularly at a faster cadence these days.
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we → seem → cadence
We talk about debt and deficits on this podcast pretty regularly, but I thought it was worth really trying to understand where we are and how we got here and what, if any, possible solutions there are, and if there are not good solutions, where this is headed in this conversation today.
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this → talk → conversation
So let me start with you, Kevin.
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me → let → you
You wrote today about debt and deficits.
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You → write → debt
We're recording Monday morning.
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We → record → ?
You wrote last week about the tragedy of US debt.
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You → write → debt
Can you give us in a, a big picture, sort of talk to me like I'm a 3rd grader trying to understand why the United States has 40 10000000000 dollars in debt.
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States → give → debt
How did we get to this point?
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we → get → point
Well, because we spent our allowance,
if you're a third grader.
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you → spend → allowance
