On prescription drug costs, Trump flunks arithmetic in embarrassing fashion [View all]
The president apparently intends to lower the cost of prescription drugs by up to 1,500%, which is badly at odds with how numbers work.
On prescription drug costs,
Trump flunks arithmetic in embarrassing fashion
Intends to lower the cost of prescription drugs
by up to 1,500%
At odds with how numbers work
www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...
— Animal Crackers (@animalcrackerstoo.bsky.social) 2025-07-24T10:35:58.030Z
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/prescription-drug-costs-trump-flunks-arithmetic-embarrassing-fashion-rcna220508
Two months later, however, Trump is still talking about his ambitions on the issue.
https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc/post/3lulqupi3kj2h
At a White House event, the president boasted to a group of Republican allies, Were gonna get the drug prices down not 30% or 40%, which would be great. Not 50% or 60%. No, were gonna get them down 1,000%, 600%, 500%, 1,500%......
Complicating matters, when it comes to his administrations and his partys approach to the underlying issue (i.e., making prescription drugs more affordable), Trump conveniently overlooked some relevant details. The New York Times reported earlier this month:
The sweeping Republican policy bill that awaits President Trumps signature on Friday includes a little-noticed victory for the drug industry. The legislation allows more medications to be exempt from Medicares price negotiation program, which was created to lower the governments drug spending. Now, manufacturers will be able to keep those prices higher.
The Times cited an estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office that found the Republican-imposed change will save the industry the one the president claims to have studied nearly $5 billion over the next decade.
Trump didnt mention any of this as part of his discussion of medication costs. Imagine that.