Friday, August 21, 2026

$40 Trillion 'Time Bomb’': Is Trump about to Break the Global Economy?

Aug 21, 2026 | Is Donald Trump driving the world economy off a cliff while you’re on your summer holiday?

America has just passed $40 trillion of debt. Trump’s tariffs are pushing up prices, his tax cuts are adding to the deficit, and his war with Iran has sent oil prices soaring. Now bond markets are turning on him. The US treasury has tried to step in and calm the bond markets, but it doesn’t appear to have worked. So what exactly is going on?

Is this just a wobble in the bond markets - or a sign of something much worse to come?

On this episode of The Fourcast, Ciaran Jenkins is joined by Pippa Malmgren, who served as an economic adviser to President George W. Bush, and The Economist’s economics editor Archie Hall.