Rubbish Check
Daily Mail Money · 20 August 2026
source“Borrowing costs spike as US national debt hits $40trillion: Fresh jitters on bond markets despite Trump intervention”
R3/ 10
Lightly altered
Rubbish Rating — 1 = base fact, 10 = pure rubbish
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In short
Rubbish Talk rates the Daily Mail's claim that borrowing costs "spiked" despite a "Trump intervention" a 3/10, because the underlying numbers (debt at $40 trillion, 30-year yields easing then partly rebounding) are accurate but the headline personalises a Treasury-run bond-buyback operation as a presidential act and dramatises a yield move that stayed below the week's peak.
The Verdict
Lightly altered. The core facts check out against the article's own reporting, but two words do heavy lifting: "spike" describes a yield rising from 5.18% back to 5.27%, still short of Tuesday's 5.34% high, and "Trump intervention" attributes a technical Treasury bond-buyback move to the president when the article itself credits Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
What actually happened
US national debt reached $40 trillion according to Treasury data, having doubled since Donald Trump first took office in 2017 when it stood at $20 trillion. A bond-market rout pushed 30-year Treasury yields to a 19-year high of 5.34%, which eased to 5.18% after Treasury Secretary Bessent announced a doubling of bond buybacks, before yields climbed back toward 5.27%.
Key facts
- US debt has hit a record $40 trillion, adding to fears on jittery bond markets after a White House intervention backfired.
- Yields on US 30-year Treasury bonds, at a 19-year high of 5.34 per cent on Tuesday, slid back to 5.18 per cent, but yesterday neared 5.27 per cent.
- The latest data from the US Treasury showed it stands at $40 trillion. It has more than doubled since Donald Trump first took office in January 2017, when it was $20 trillion.
- Maya MacGuineas, president of the bipartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said the $40 trillion figure has quadrupled in less than 20 years, after taking until 1981 to reach $1trillion.
- US debt now stands at around 120 per cent of gross domestic product. Around $1.1 trillion is spent servicing debt interest every year.
- A market rout this week saw yields on US and other major global bonds soar, which was only halted after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a doubling of buybacks of US bonds.
What to watch for
Watch whether yields retest or break the 5.34% Tuesday high, which would validate "spike" rather than describe a partial rebound within a still-elevated range. Also watch whether the "Trump intervention" framing persists in follow-up coverage even as the operational detail stays with Bessent and Treasury, since analysts at JP Morgan said borrowing costs would keep rising unless the White House tackled America's debt, a structural point the headline's focus on one day's yield move obscures.
About this scoreThe R-Score is Rubbish Talk's editorial opinion on how far a headline's framing sits from what the underlying facts support. It is a judgement about presentation and emphasis, not an allegation that any outlet has acted dishonestly. Every figure we rely on is linked under Receipts so you can check it yourself.
