The last Democratic president to balance the budget was Bill Clinton, who achieved that feat in 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001.
The last Republican president to balance the budget was Dwight Eisenhower, who did it in 1957.
In the history of our government, there was only one year (1835) when the government did not have any debt - and it was disastrous. A few years later, the Panic of 1837 tanked the economy, and forced the government to borrow again.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/andrew-jackson-national-debt-reaches-zero-dollars
Although we might consider debt to be a bad thing, that's not necessarily the case when it comes to government spending -
if properly administered.
The stimulus package signed into law by Barack Obama pulled the country out of a recession - but it should have been larger.
The American Recovery Act signed into law by Joe Biden has drastically reduced unemployment and led to economic growth not seen for many years.
The 2017 tax cuts signed by Donald Trump did little to help the economy, but it made wealthy people a lot happier.
During WWII, our debt to GDP ratio was 113%, but by the 1950's, America had a very robust economy, largely due to the INVESTMENTS the county had made, like the G.I. bill and the interstate highway system.
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/11/the-long-story-of-us-debt-from-1790-to-2011-in-1-little-chart/265185/
Today, it is 106.7%. Having a high debt to GDP ratio is not necessarily bad.
Japan has the highest ratio in the world, at 237.54%, even though it was as low as 50% in the mid-80's, when it's economy was a lot stronger.
The counties right below Japan also are not doing well.
Russia has one of the lowest ratios in the world, at 13.79%, but it has a lousy economy, and it's being propped up almost exclusively by oil and gas exports.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/countries-by-national-debt
I was an Economics major in college. but trying to explain the national debt to many people would likely only get me confused looks, especially from people who get all their news from FOX.