Claim: “Obama’s spending drove us $5 trillion deeper in debt.”
Ad(s): Actually Happened
Sponsor(s): American Crossroads
Air Dates: October 2 – October 11
Total Estimated Spending On This Claim: $6,817,156 ($13,634,312 Total)
Markets: Colorado Springs, Denver, Grand Junction, Ft. Myers, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, Tallahassee, Tampa, West Palm Beach, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Des Moines, Omaha, Ottumwa, Quincy, Sioux City, Rochester, Charlotte, Greensboro, Greenville, Raleigh, Wilmington, Boston, Burlington, Manchester, Portland, Las Vegas, Reno, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo, Zanesville, Charlottesville, Norfolk, Richmond, Roanoke, Washington D.C.
Stations: CO: KKTV, KOAA, KRDO, KXRM, KCNC, KDVR, KMGH, KTVD, KUSA, KWGN, KFQX, KJCT, KKCO, KREX, FL: WBBH, WFTX, WINK, WXCW, WZVN, WCJB, WGFL, WOGX, WAWS, WJXT, WJXX, WTEV, WTLV, WBFS, WFOR, WPLG, WSFL, WSVN, WTVJ, WESH, WFTV, WKCF, WKMG, WOFL, WRDQ, WCTV, WTLH, WTWC, WTXL, WFLA, WFTS, WMOR, WTOG, WTSP, WTTA, WTVT, WWSB, WFLX, WPBF, WPEC, WPTV, WTVX, IA: KCRG, KFXA, KGAN, KWWL, KLJB, KWQC, WHBF, WQAD, KCCI, KDSM, WHO, WOI, KETV, KMTV, KPTM, WOWT, KTVO, KHQA, WGEM, KCAU, KPTH, KTIV, MN: KAAL, KTTC, KXLT, NC: WAXN, WBTV, WCCB, WCNC, WSOC, WFMY, WGHP, WXII, WXLV, WCTI, WFXI, WITN, WNCT, WHNS, WLOS, WSPA, WYFF, WLFL, WNCN, WRAL, WRAZ, WRDC, WTVD, WILM, NH: WBZ, WCVB, WFXT, WHDH, WLVI, WCAX, WFFF, WPTZ, WVNY, WMUR, WCSH, WGME, WMTW, WPFO, NV: KLAS, KSNV, KTUD, KVVU, KOLO, KRNV, KRXI, KTVN, OH: EKRC, WCPO, WKRC, WLWT, WSTR, WXIX, WEWS, WJW, WKYC, WOIO, WUAB, WBNS, WCMH, WSYX, WTTE, WWHO, WDTN, WHIO, WKEF, WRGT, WNWO, WTOL, WTVG, WUPW, WHIZ, VA: WAHU, WCAV, WVAW, WVIR, WAVY, WGNT, WTKR, WTVZ, WVBT, WVEC, WRIC, WRLH, WTVR, WWBT, WDBJ, WFXR, WSET, WSLS, WJLA, WRC, WTTG, WUSA
Politifact Summary: “But it’s not entirely correct to hang that increase on ‘Obama’s spending’ alone. In our previous item, we looked at calculations by the Treasury Department based on data from the Congressional Budget Office, the independent number-crunching arm of Congress. To figure out what caused the accumulation of deficits over the past decade, CBO tracked the surplus it had projected back in 2001 and compared it with the actual cumulative deficits that resulted instead. CBO specifically broke out how much several laws contributed to the deficit, some of which started under Bush and some under Obama…But not all of the $5 trillion can be attributed to Obama’s spending. Much of it can be attributed to his tax cuts and the policies of President Bush.”