Spoiler Alert: 70% Said “NEITHER” Because Both Added TRILLIONS! But the Answers Reveal Why Americans Have Lost ALL Faith in Government Spending!
THE QUESTION NOBODY WANTED TO ANSWER
“Who managed the national debt better, Bush Jr. or Biden?”
This question is like asking someone to choose between two different kinds of disasters. George W. Bush took the national debt from $5.7 trillion to $10.6 trillion—adding nearly $5 trillion in eight years. Joe Biden took it from $27.8 trillion to $36.2 trillion—adding $8.4 trillion in just four years.
Neither president managed the debt well. Both presided over massive spending increases. Both left the country deeper in the hole than they found it. The question isn’t really who was better—it’s who was less catastrophically bad.
We expected people to reluctantly pick the lesser of two evils. Maybe some partisan defense of their guy. Perhaps arguments about circumstances beyond presidential control like wars and economic crises.
What we got was something entirely different: overwhelming rejection of the premise. People refused to play along. They wouldn’t pick either president because both were failures on fiscal responsibility.
Out of approximately 200 responses:
- Neither/Both terrible: ~140 responses (70%)
- Bush: ~30 responses (15%)
- Biden: ~15 responses (7.5%)
- Trump (not an option): ~10 responses (5%)
- Other/Insults: ~5 responses (2.5%)
Seventy percent said neither president managed the debt acceptably. That’s not a close race—it’s a unified declaration that both failed miserably at fiscal responsibility.
THE “NEITHER” AVALANCHE
The single most common response wasn’t Bush. Wasn’t Biden. It was some variation of “neither,” “both sucked,” or “are you kidding me?”
“Neither!” appeared as a standalone response at least forty times. People weren’t elaborating because the answer seemed so obvious it didn’t need explanation. Both presidents were fiscal disasters. End of story.
“Neither one” and variations appeared dozens more times. “Nether” with the misspelling showed up repeatedly, proving that even people who can’t spell perfectly understand that both presidents failed on debt.
Ken Bailey captured the sentiment perfectly with dark humor: “That’s like asking would you rather walk into the blades of a huge industrial fan or be eaten by a great white shark.” Both options are terrible. Choosing between them is pointless. You’re going to get destroyed either way.
“Both were badly president” from Micheal Hang sums it up despite the grammatical error. Neither was good. Both were bad. The debt exploded under both. Why should anyone pretend otherwise?
Some responses were more colorful in their rejection. “Two worst so call Presidents” declared Ralph Thomason. “Neither of them piles of sh” wrote Tag Gunter, not even bothering to finish the profanity because his contempt was so complete. “Neither one and Obama was just as bad” added Wayne Pinnix Sr., expanding the criticism to include the president between them.
The “both sucked” variations appeared constantly. “They both sucked” from Anthony Costsnxo and James Poole. “Both is no good” from Anthony L Hufstetler. “Two clowns” from Bobby Webb. “Both were puppets of the same regime!” from Michel Breaux, suggesting the presidents didn’t even matter because the same forces controlled both.
This wasn’t partisan warfare where Republicans defend Bush and Democrats defend Biden. This was bipartisan disgust. Both sides agreeing that both presidents were fiscal catastrophes. That level of agreement on anything political is remarkable and shows how deep the frustration with government spending runs.
THE BUSH DEFENDERS (SORT OF)
About thirty people chose Bush as managing the debt better. But even most of these weren’t exactly enthusiastic endorsements. They were reluctant acknowledgments that Bush was marginally less terrible than Biden.
“Bush gets the nod” from Donald Schafer sounds like someone picking the least moldy piece of bread. Not because Bush was good, but because Biden was worse.
“Bush but not by much” from Samuel Torre perfectly captures the sentiment. Bush wins by default, but the margin is so small it barely counts. It’s like saying you prefer being punched in the face to being kicked in the groin—neither is good, but one is slightly less bad.
Multiple responses added qualifiers like “Bush but Trump is #1” or “Bush but President Trump is number 1.” These people weren’t really defending Bush’s debt record. They were saying Bush was better than Biden while making clear their real preference was Trump, who wasn’t even one of the options.
“Bush. Anyone but Biden” from Gerald Colgrove shows this wasn’t about Bush doing well—it was about Biden doing so poorly that literally anyone else would be better.
Paul Kramar declared “Bush Jr. Not even close” with confidence, but didn’t explain why. The assumption seems to be that Biden’s debt explosion was so much worse that it’s self-evident Bush managed better.
Some Bush defenders at least tried to provide context. Beverly Sutton wrote “Bush. Biden expanded it into trillions more,” acknowledging that Bush added to the debt but arguing Biden made it exponentially worse.
The most grudging endorsement came from Gary A. Coleman: “Ass bad as Bush was. I would say Bush.” Even while choosing Bush, he’s admitting Bush was terrible. That’s how low the bar is—being slightly less awful than Biden counts as “managing better.”
THE BIDEN DEFENDERS (EVEN FEWER)
Only about fifteen people defended Biden as managing the debt better. That’s half as many as defended Bush, which is striking considering Democrats usually defend their presidents more enthusiastically than Republicans defend theirs.
Most Biden defenders didn’t actually address the debt question directly. Instead they pivoted to other economic indicators or blamed Republicans for debt problems generally.
“Look at the stats, Joe Biden” from Lupe Vargas doesn’t specify which stats, presumably hoping people won’t actually look at the debt statistics that show Biden added $8.4 trillion in four years.
A few responses simply stated “Biden” without elaboration. Merlene Cox, Joseph Coffee, Chris Sorensen, Rick Smith, Dean Ring, Curtis M Broadie Sr., and Jerry Bevins all just wrote Biden’s name and nothing else. That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement backed by facts and figures.
The one Biden defender who actually provided arguments was Rusty Wolfe, who spammed the thread with multiple pro-Biden memes and talking points. He posted images claiming Biden created 15 million jobs, reduced inflation from 9.1% to 3.2%, cut the deficit, and left the economy booming. He also posted a chart showing Clinton and Obama reduced deficits while Trump increased them massively.
But here’s the problem with Rusty’s argument: he’s conflating deficit (annual shortfall) with debt (total accumulation). Biden did reduce the annual deficit compared to the COVID years—but he still ran trillion-dollar deficits every single year and added $8.4 trillion to the total debt. Reducing the deficit from $2.8 trillion to $1.8 trillion doesn’t mean you’re managing the debt well. It means you’re adding to the debt slightly less catastrophically than before.
Other responses attacked the premise. Bob Carr wrote “Biden/Obama. Decreased the deficit Republicans increased the deficit,” again confusing deficit reduction with debt management. Ron Tobias tried deflecting: “The only president in modern history to manage the debt was Bill Clinton. President Clinton’s economy had a surplus!” This is true but doesn’t answer the question about Bush vs. Biden.
THE TRUMP HIJACK
About ten people responded with “Trump” even though Trump wasn’t one of the options. This shows how Trump dominates conservative political thinking—he’s the frame of reference for everything.
“TRUMP. THE. BEST” from Ronnie Haluszka. “Trump is the Best” from Esther Vela. “Trump!” from Jeff Ramsey, James Thomas Honeycutt, and Hobbs Farms. Multiple responses declared Trump number one while reluctantly picking Bush as better than Biden.
Daniel Fitzgerald went full caps lock: “OUR PRESIDENT DONALD J TRUMP THE BUSINESS MAN GOD BUSINESS NUMBER # 1 HES THE BEST PRESIDENT IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AMEN 🙏” This is religious fervor, not fiscal analysis.
The irony is that Trump also added massively to the debt—$8.4 trillion in four years when you include COVID spending. But his supporters either don’t know this, don’t care, or believe the spending was justified by circumstances. Either way, they see Trump as the solution even when he’s not the question.
THE CONTEXT DEFENDERS
Some responses tried to provide context for why both presidents added so much debt. These people understood that simply blaming the presidents personally might miss important factors beyond their control.
“Bush added a $10 trillion to our deficit but had to deal with 9/11 Biden loaded the deficit $10 trillion for mostly his illegal invasion. Those or facts” wrote Mark Harrison. He’s giving Bush some slack for responding to 9/11 and the wars that followed, while arguing Biden had no comparable excuse.
Joe Mayrant provided the most thoughtful response: “Not one are the other, both felled to do anything but waste time and money, Bush spent Billions bombing mud huts and ill equipped force in Iraq, Biden spent Billions on Covid filling the pockets of the pharmaceutical industry, and Destroying the economy for all, with BS mandatory mandates, that did more harm than good, it just a fact, we all have had to live with, bad leadership because of money and power to a few.”
This response acknowledges that both presidents spent massively but for different reasons. Bush had the Iraq War. Biden had COVID response. Both wasted taxpayer money. Both enriched special interests. Both failed to manage the debt responsibly.
Thomas Goeke offered another perspective: “bush spent like it was unlimited, Biden well he wasn’t mentally able to do the job we know Obama actually ran the Biden administration and he spent to kill the country just as he did in his own administration.” This combines criticism of Bush’s spending with the theory that Obama was secretly running Biden’s administration—a common conservative talking point.
Francis Almond went deeper: “Neither one. They both ran us in debt with stupid spending. Bush got rich off of the war he wanted and started in Iraq. Cheney mad millions off his company selling over priced supplies for the war.” This accuses both presidents of personally profiting from their spending decisions, suggesting corruption rather than just incompetence.
THE CONSPIRACY THEORIES
Any political discussion attracts conspiracy theories, and this thread had its share. Some were standard partisan accusations. Others ventured into darker territory.
“Bush bombed the trade centers to invade Iraq” from Richard Dickerson represents the 9/11 truther belief that Bush orchestrated the attacks to justify war. “Neither but Bush sure did help manage those twin towers come down” from Luke Meyers echoes this theory.
These conspiracy theories are nonsense, but they reveal deep distrust of government. People who believe their president would murder thousands of Americans to justify a war aren’t going to trust anything else that president says or does, including fiscal policy.
“Biden was installed to give Obama a 3rd term at wrecking America trump is fixing that” from Keith Eddy represents the conservative theory that Biden is just a puppet for Obama’s continued shadow presidency. Whether you believe this or not, it shows conservatives don’t see Biden as actually governing—they see him as a front man for others.
Multiple responses accused Biden of being senile, mentally incompetent, or controlled by handlers. “Dementia Joe didnt manage anything. He was a puppet for the radical left” wrote Robert Kelley. “Biden didn’t even know what was going on” from Steve Bock. These accusations may be exaggerated, but they reflect genuine concerns about Biden’s mental acuity that even some Democrats privately shared.
THE FISCAL REALITY NOBODY WANTS TO FACE
Buried in all the partisan warfare and insults is a fundamental truth that both parties refuse to acknowledge: the national debt is spiraling out of control and neither party has any plan to fix it.
George W. Bush took office in 2001 with $5.7 trillion in national debt. He left office in 2009 with $10.6 trillion. That’s an increase of $4.9 trillion in eight years. The main drivers were:
- The Afghanistan War (2001-2021)
- The Iraq War (2003-2011)
- The 2008 financial crisis and TARP bailouts
- Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit
- Bush tax cuts
Republicans argue the wars were necessary responses to 9/11 and the financial crisis required intervention to prevent depression. Democrats argue Bush started an unnecessary war in Iraq and cut taxes while spending massively, creating unsustainable deficits.
Joe Biden took office in 2021 with $27.8 trillion in national debt (Trump had added $8.4 trillion, mostly due to COVID response). Biden left office in 2025 with approximately $36.2 trillion. That’s an increase of $8.4 trillion in four years. The main drivers were:
- Continued COVID spending
- American Rescue Plan ($1.9 trillion)
- Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act ($1.2 trillion)
- Inflation Reduction Act ($750 billion, though supposedly revenue-neutral)
- Student loan forgiveness attempts
- Increased discretionary spending across the board
Democrats argue this spending was necessary to combat COVID’s economic damage and make critical infrastructure investments. Republicans argue Biden spent recklessly on progressive wish lists and created inflation through excessive spending.
Here’s what both sides avoid discussing: neither president made any serious attempt to control entitlement spending (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid), which represents the real long-term debt crisis. Both signed massive spending bills. Both kicked the can down the road. Both left the problem worse than they found it.
THE UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTH
The reason seventy percent of responses said “neither” is because Americans are waking up to a harsh reality: neither political party actually cares about the national debt. They pretend to care when the other party is in power, but when they’re in power themselves, they spend just as recklessly.
Republicans criticize Democrat spending but then cut taxes and increase military spending without offsetting cuts elsewhere. Democrats criticize Republican fiscal irresponsibility but then launch massive new social programs without sustainable funding. Both parties promise fiscal responsibility. Both parties deliver fiscal catastrophe.
The national debt has increased under every president since Lyndon Johnson except Bill Clinton (who benefited from the tech boom and a Republican Congress). It’s increased under Republicans and Democrats. It’s increased during wars and peacetime. It’s increased during recessions and boom times. It just keeps increasing, regardless of who’s in charge.
Why? Because fixing the debt requires political courage neither party has. You’d need to either:
- Raise taxes significantly (political suicide)
- Cut entitlements significantly (political suicide)
- Both (double political suicide)
Politicians know that anyone who seriously proposes fixing the debt will lose their next election. So they don’t propose it. They make vague promises about “fiscal responsibility” while continuing to spend trillions we don’t have.
The American people understand this now. That’s why seventy percent said neither Bush nor Biden managed the debt well. They’re not stupid. They see the debt climbing. They know both parties are responsible. They know nobody’s going to fix it.
THE FINAL VERDICT
Who managed the national debt better, Bush Jr. or Biden?
According to the comments: NEITHER (70%)
According to the actual numbers: Both were disasters, but Biden was worse
Bush added $4.9 trillion in eight years ($612 billion per year average). Biden added $8.4 trillion in four years ($2.1 trillion per year average). Biden added debt at more than three times Bush’s annual rate.
But this comparison isn’t entirely fair because context matters. Bush dealt with 9/11, two wars, and the 2008 financial crisis. Biden dealt with COVID aftermath and inflation. Different circumstances require different spending levels.
The honest answer is that neither president managed the debt well. Both spent far beyond sustainable levels. Both left future generations with massive bills to pay. Both prioritized short-term political goals over long-term fiscal responsibility.
The seventy percent who said “neither” are correct. This isn’t about picking the lesser evil—it’s about recognizing that both were evil when it came to fiscal management. The national debt is a bipartisan disaster decades in the making, and neither Bush nor Biden did anything to fix it. They both made it worse.
Until Americans demand actual fiscal responsibility from both parties—until they’re willing to accept the tax increases or spending cuts necessary to balance the budget—the debt will keep growing. And future comment sections will keep saying “neither” when asked which president managed it better.
Do YOU think Bush or Biden managed the debt better? Or do you agree with the 70% who said neither? Can any president actually control the debt, or is it a systemic problem beyond any individual’s power to fix? The comments say both failed—and the numbers prove them right.
