It’s actually $240 trillion. It will never be paid. Either default or inflation will pay it off. I pick inflation, though not by choice.
This is a problem we could have solved back when Reagan was in office.
Whatever the actual number really is, the debt is so large that even a slight rise in interest rates (e.g., 5 Year T goes from 1.5% to just 2%; a 33% increase) will have an exponential effect on debt service costs. This is one of the reasons why the Fed keeps printing money. If rates were anywhere near normal historical levels, we’d be in serious trouble.