Hillary Clinton Campaign Press Release - Statement from Gene Sperling on Donald Trump's Risky Suggestion He Would Consider Defaulting on the National Debt as President

Gene Sperling, former Director of the National Economic Council and Assistant to the President for Economic Policy under Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, released the following statement regarding Donald Trump's risky suggestion he would consider defaulting on the national debt as president:

"The full faith and credit of the United States of America has been one of the bulwarks of our economic strength for over 200 years. For Donald Trump to casually announce he would consider defaulting on our debt for the first time in our history shows a stunning lack of responsibility and understanding of the global economy. Donald Trump might feel it is fine to renege on his own debts and drive some of his companies in and out of bankruptcy, but that is no way to run the United States economy. If a President Trump made good on his recent proposal to make default a viable economic option for the United States, it would risk a global financial meltdown, drive up interest rates for Americans for decades, and seriously harm middle-class families."

On Thursday, Trump said in an interview with CNBC that as president he would consider not making good on the country's debt obligations, an action that experts say could imperil the entire United States economy and/or cause a global financial crisis:

Washington Post: Editorial: Donald Trump sets a new record for economic recklessness

Business Insider: Donald Trump is floating an insane idea that would tank the American economy

Vox: Donald Trump just threatened to cause an unprecedented global financial crisis

CNN: Donald Trump: 'I'm the king of debt'

Reason: We were kidding about Donald Trump literally taking the U.S. to bankruptcy court, right

Market Watch: Donald Trump's plan for the economy: let's copy Greece

Huffington Post: Great, Donald Trump threatened to default on the national debt

American Spectator: Donald Trump's dumb plan to default on our debt payments