"That will inspire a pretty strong economy," Panetta said during an onstage interview at Fortune 's Global Forum. "The big dark side of this is that it is likely borrowing in the U.S. is going to soar. We're looking at, I think, the possibility of maybe adding $7 trillion to the national debt."
However, the exact impact of some of Trump's unorthodox economic policies on an otherwise strong economy remains uncertain, according to Panetta. "The economy is good, but obviously [Trump] represents a real jolt to the economy in America," he said.
Despite being supportive of the broad strokes of Trump's economic agenda, namely deregulation and cutting taxes, Panetta was not without reservations. Of particular concern were the interest payments the U.S. would be forced to make on its rising national debt.
Interest payments on the national debt, expected to reach $870 billion this year, now exceed the $822 billion annual defense budget, according to a March analysis from the Congressional Budget Office.
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