The U.S. national debt reached a record $39.5 trillion in June, a 37% increase from pre-pandemic levels, and tech entrepreneur Jason Calacanis is blaming President Donald Trump for much of the increase.

According to USAFacts, a nonprofit civic initiative cofounded by former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer that aggregates and analyzes government data, the federal government now owes the equivalent of $113,000 per person.

Calacanis, a cohost of the All-In Podcast, criticized Trump in a post on X last week, writing that the president had become “the worst-spending President in our history.” He said Trump added “~$2.2-$2.3 T to the national debt in each of his first two years and in his second term.”

Data from Congress’ Joint Economic Committee show the national debt increased by $2.25 trillion during the first year of Trump’s second term, rising to $3.16 trillion through July. Some of the spending that helped raise the debt level may have been approved before Trump took office. During his first term, Trump added $2.2 trillion of debt in his first two years, according to a 2024 report by the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

Calacanis also said Trump has broken a central campaign promise on fiscal policy.

“President Trump promised not to add to the national debt during his presidential campaign — and, in fact, that he would pay it down,” Calacanis wrote. “He has failed badly on both counts.”

During the 2016 campaign, Trump said he would eliminate the country’s debt, which then stood at $19 trillion, “over a period of eight years.” Instead, the debt has more than doubled. That pledge has remained a core part of Trump’s political message even as the fiscal backdrop has worsened, and last year he also backed the idea of using 20% of the savings from the Elon Musk-led budget-slashing initiative DOGE to pay down the debt.

In a statement to Fortune, White House spokesperson Kush Desai said Trump is the first president to seriously address waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government.

“The Trump administration has already secured billions in discretionary spending savings for the American people by right-sizing the federal workforce to its lowest level since the 1960s, slashing wasteful programs, and implementing other commonsense reforms. As the President’s growth and savings agenda continues taking effect, America’s debt-to-GDP ratio is set to trend in the right direction,” Desai wrote.

The federal government spent $1.2 trillion on interest payments alone last year, more than the total defense budget, which is itself the largest in the world, underscoring how much room the debt now leaves for other priorities in the federal budget.

Several administrations over decades have added to the national debt, including President Biden, who added about $84 trillion to the federal deficit during his four years in office, according to data previously provided to Fortune by the Peterson Foundation, a nonpartisan watchdog focused on government financial sustainability. Still, Trump has made eliminating the debt a central part of his political message since his first presidential campaign.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office has warned that failing to rein in the budget deficit could have long-term consequences. Higher debt could lead to higher borrowing costs for Americans taking out home or car loans, as the Treasury sells more bonds to finance government operations and investors demand higher yields. Businesses could also face higher borrowing costs, which could contribute to stagnant wages and higher prices for goods and services.

The dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency has so far given the United States more room to borrow than other countries, but Wichita State University international business professor Usha Haley told Fortune that this does not mean the country can keep borrowing at the same rate indefinitely.

“The United States is not immune from the consequences of unrealistic policies,” Haley said. “The country can currently service its debt, but probably will not be able to in the longer term.”

In a follow-up post on X, Calacanis said deficit control should be the central issue in the next presidential campaign.

“The number one job of the President is to get the deficit under control. Biden failed. Trump has failed twice. Next election, this is all that matters.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com