Some folks would call it a lie.

We know the national debt situation is massive. We’re in hock to China so deep, it’s not likely most reading this will see any relief from it in our lifetime.

President Trump, however, with his usual Duane Elizondo Mountain Dew Camacho bravado has promised to cancel the debt by the end of his second term.

Does he have a secret weapon or something?

Not sure.

First of all, he wasn’t even in office and had no clue to the extent of debt or how government operates when he made that statement.

Then, there’s his Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, who basically said not to listen to Trump, because he lies.

Asked on Wednesday about Trump’s promise to end the debt, Mulvaney said:

“It’s fairly safe to assume that was hyperbole,” he responded. “I’m not going to be able to pay off $20 trillion worth of debt in four years. I’d be being dishonest with you if I said I could.

“The reason the president doesn’t want to change some of the mandatory spending is because the public’s not ready for it yet. They’re ready for economic growth.”

So Trump is writing checks that Mulvaney’s butt can’t cash.

To begin chipping away at that national debt, it would require some major belt-tightening on the part of the federal government.

To get both sides of the aisle to give up some of their pet projects (and the pet is porcine in nature, just to be clear) won’t allow for that to happen.

However, even Trump knew he was lying when he said he’d pay off the debt in 8 years.

Last year it was 8 years, but in the follow up, he adjusted those remarks.

“No, I didn’t say 10 years. First of all, with low interest rates, you can think in terms of refinancings, and get it down,” Trump said in April 2016. “I believe you can do certain things to pay off the debt more quickly. The most important thing is to make sure the economy stays strong. You can do it in smaller chunks. You can do it in larger chunks. And you can do it in refinancing.”

He instead said he could pay off “a percentage of it” in 10 years.

And what’s the percentage? 50 percent? 12 percent? 1 percent?

I promise you, he doesn’t have a clue.