Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, claimed in a new interview that President Donald Trump never promised to cut the national debt.
Cruz told Axios reporter Jonathan Swan for an interview that will air Monday night on HBO that Trump even said he was the "king of debt."
"I'm very worried about the debt. I'm worried about it under Trump," Cruz said in a clip posted to Twitter. "Now, to be fair, Trump didn't campaign on cutting the debt."
Swan interjected and said, "He did. He said he was gonna eliminate the national debt in eight years."
Cruz then replied, "He also said something … 'I'm the king of debt' in 2016."
Cruz's last comment was in reference to Trump's remark in June 2016, in which he wrote on Twitter, "I am 'the king of debt.' That has been great for me as a businessman, but is bad for the country. I made a fortune off of debt, will fix U.S."
The national debt has shot up this year, thanks in part to the coronavirus relief packages that Trump has signed to help give the economy a jolt after months of pandemic-related shutdowns and closures.
According to usdebtclock.org, the national debt stands at $27.1 trillion. Days before Trump won the 2016 election, the debt stood at $20 trillion.
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