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High maintenance
Will Fitzpatrick
Lottie Tellyn
By Lottie TellynAugust 20, 2026
Lottie Tellyn

Lottie is a reporter at GZERO, where she covers all things geopolitics for the website and daily newsletter. Before moving to the US, she reported for The Times and Sunday Times of London, writing about everything from sports and travel to foreign affairs and breaking news. Lottie has a bachelor’s in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oxford University, and a master’s in journalism from Columbia University. Originally from Hampshire, England, she now lives in New York, where she can usually be found inviting far too many people round for dinner, out running in the park, and trying to remember to drive on the wrong side of the road.

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The milestone brings warnings of a looming fiscal crisis, with national debt more than doubling in the last decade: when Donald Trump first entered office in 2017, debt stood at $19.95 trillion. During his first term, debt rose by $7.9 trillion, more than half of which came during his last nine months facing Covid. His second term has already added another $3.8 trillion to national debt. Under Joe Biden, debt increased by $8.4 trillion, with Covid spending heavily contributing.

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