FLASHBACK PROMISE: On This Day In 2010, Obama Bragged That He Had “Already Proposed A Long Time Ago” That He Would Cut The Deficit In Half. OBAMA:  “Keep in mind that we had already proposed a long time ago that we were going to cut our deficits in half by 2013.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks At G-20 Press Conference, Toronto, Canada, 6/27/10)

BROKEN:Politifact Rated The Claim That Obama “Hasn’t Even Come Close” To Halving The Deficit As He Promised As “True.” “Obama indeed made the pledge on Feb. 23, 2009, following a ‘Fiscal Responsibility Summit’ shortly after his inauguration. (Watch more of his remarks that day.) He said then that the nation’s $1.3 trillion deficit was the largest in the nation’s history. It was mostly unchanged through fiscal year 2011. In 2012? It’s expected to be $1.17 trillion. So not cut in half. That’s according to the nonpartisan researchers at the Congressional Budget Office in a March 2012 report.” (Katie Sanders, “Obama Promised To Cut The Deficit By Half By The End Of His First Term But He ‘Hasn’t Even Come Close,’” Politifact, 5/16/12)

Politifact: “Obama Promised To Halve The Nation’s Debt, But He Hasn’t Managed To Chip Away Much As The End Of His First Term Nears.” (Katie Sanders, “Obama Promised To Cut The Deficit By Half By The End Of His First Term But He ‘Hasn’t Even Come Close,’” Politifact, 5/16/12)

The Washington Post’s Ezra Klein: “The Obama Administration Is Officially Breaking Its Promise To Halve The Deficit By The End Of Their First Term.” (Ezra Klein, “Wonkbook: 5 Things To Watch In Obama’s 2013 Budget,” The Washington Post’s Wonkbook, 2/13/12)

·         Klein: “The 2013 budget envisions a deficit of more than $1 trillion — not halved by any stretch of the imagination.” (Ezra Klein, “Wonkbook: 5 Things To Watch In Obama’s 2013 Budget,” The Washington Post’s Wonkbook, 2/13/12)

The New York Times: Obama’s Budget “Will Show Mr. Obama Has Failed To Meet His Pledge To Cut The Deficit In Half By The End Of His First Term.” “But the document’s numbers will show Mr. Obama has failed to meet his pledge to cut the deficit in half by the end of his term, and for Republicans, that will be the bottom line.” (Jackie Calmes, “Obama’s Budget To Focus On Cutting Deficit And Adding Jobs,” The New York Times, 2/10/12)

USA Today: Obama Will Fall “Far Short Of His Goal To Halve The Deficit In Four Years.” “President Obama’s proposed 2013 budget will forecast a $901 billion deficit for next year, falling far short of his goal to halve the deficit in four years.” (Richard Wolf, “Obama Budget To Miss Deficit Goal,” USA Today’s “The Oval,” 2/10/12)

At No Point In The President’s FY2013 Budget Would The Deficit Be As Low As $533 Billion And The Deficit Would Not Reach 3.0% Of GDP Until FY2017. (Office Of Management And Budget, “Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Of The U.S. Government,” The White House, 2/13/12)

President Obama Has Racked Up The Three Largest Deficits In U.S. History. “The U.S budget deficit for fiscal year 2011 is $1.299 trillion, the second largest shortfall in history. The nation only ran a larger deficit for the 2009 fiscal year, which included the dramatic collapse of financial markets and a huge bailout effort by the government.”(Erik Wasson, “Treasury Announces 2011 Deficit Is Second Highest In History,” The Hill’s “On The Money”, 10/14/11)

Politifact: Barack Obama Is “The Undisputed Debt King Of The Last Five Presidents.” “So by this measurement — potentially a more important one — Obama is the undisputed debt king of the last five presidents, rather than the guy who added a piddling amount to the debt, as Pelosi’s chart suggested.” (“Nancy Pelosi Post Questionable Chart On Debt Accumulation By Barack Obama, Predecessors,” Politifact, 5/19/11)