MSNBC host Joe Scarborough took on Rep. Steny Hoyer's (D., Md.) assertion that President Reagan's record on national debt is actually worse than President Obama's Thursday on "Morning Joe:"
JOE SCARBOROUGH: So Steny, I've done the arithmetic for you.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: He's been working the math here. Pen and paper.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: You've helped me do the math here.
STENY HOYER: Good. I came on to help you, Joe.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: You did. And you always help me. And I love you, Steny. I always have. So, I'm looking at Ronald Reagan's deficits.
STENY HOYER: Started at $895 million.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: $221, $149, $155 [million]. Over eight years, Ronald Reagan didn't run up deficits that Barack Obama ran up this past year. But even in inflation-adjusted dollars, Barack Obama ran up higher deficits last year than Ronald Reagan did over eight years.
STENY HOYER: No, you're correct.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: Thank you. That's all I wanted.
Hoyer had earlier claimed Reagan's record of increasing of the national debt from $900 billion to $2.8 trillion is comparable, if not worse than President Obama's record on the issue.
The national debt under President Obama has increased from $10.6 to $16 trillion over the first four years of his administration.
Fiscal year 2013 OMB estimates project President Obama's proposed budget will increase the national debt to $25.4 trillion by 2022.
Full interview: