BUDGET CHIEF: Trump's promise to eliminate America's $20 trillion problem was 'hyperbole'

People should not have taken President Donald Trump's promise to eliminate the federal debt literally according to the new director of the Office Of Management and Budget.

Mick Mulvaney, who was appointed by Trump as OMB director, told CNBC's John Harwood that Trump's campaign promise to eliminate the roughly $20 trillion federal debt pile was an exaggeration.

"It's fairly safe to assume that was hyperbole," Mulvaney said. "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 that I could."

Trump told the Washington Post on March 31, 2016 that he could eliminate the debt "fairly quickly" without raising taxes "over a period of eight years."

Trump could bring down expenditures by eliminating mandatory spending on entitlements such as Medicare and Social Security. Though Republicans have long advocated cutting entitlements as a way to reduce the deficit, Trump said during his campaign that he would not touch those programs.

"The reason the president doesn't want to change some of the mandatory spending is because the public's not ready for it yet," the OMB director said. "They're ready for economic growth."

Read the full CNBC interview here»