In a car crash television moment that has since gone viral, Donald Trump was rendered utterly speechless, left grasping for words during a tense exchange on the UK's GB News channel.
The former President, who is once again campaigning for the White House, found himself on the back foot when veteran broadcaster Nigel Farage confronted him with a stark and uncomfortable truth: the colossal $8.4 trillion (£6.6 trillion) added to the US national debt during his four-year term.
A Moment of Priceless Television
The interview, intended to be a platform for Trump's political comeback, took a dramatic turn. Farage, presenting his show on Tuesday, pointedly asked the ex-President to account for his administration's record on borrowing, a core issue for his conservative base.
Trump's response was anything but presidential. A prolonged, awkward silence filled the airwaves before he managed a fragmented reply, mumbling: "It's called COVID. COVID… COVID…" He then attempted to deflect, bizarrely claiming his handling of the pandemic had somehow "saved the world".
The Staggering Numbers Behind the Silence
The figures behind the question are damning. According to official US Treasury data, the national debt stood at $19.9 trillion when Trump entered the Oval Office in January 2017. By the time he left in January 2021, it had ballooned to a staggering $28.3 trillion.
This represents one of the most significant increases in US history, a fact that left the notoriously boastful leader uncharacteristically lost for words and unable to mount a coherent defence of his economic record.
A Desperate Attempt to Shift Blame
Fumbling for a narrative, Trump then tried to pivot, making a baseless claim that other world leaders had personally called him to praise his pandemic response. "Every country in the world was calling me, the leaders… 'Sir, sir'", he stammered, without providing a shred of evidence to support the anecdote.
The painful exchange provides potent ammunition for his political opponents and raises serious questions about his preparedness to handle complex economic issues should he win a second term. For viewers and critics alike, it was a moment of pure, unscripted revelation.
