The issue focused on what the president might have meant to do about the $20 trillion national debt if Congress did not approve the massive spending programs he created as part of the debt-ceiling deal, which became law in December 2011.


"A lot of people have said to me, have you thought about not raising the debt ceiling for two years? And that's what I do in the event of a government shutdown," Obama said during an interview on CBS' "This Morning."


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