President Donald Trump left viewers scratching their heads last week after making yet another sweeping promise that collapsed the moment he tried to explain it.
In a Fox News appearance, Trump’s grasp of basic economics and arithmetic was on display when he said, “We’re gonna be reducing drug costs over the next year, year and a half… by a 1,000%,” before attempting to explain with an example that only deepened the confusion.
“Because if you think of a $10 pill—it will be raised up from $10 to $20 because it’s the world versus us, the world is the bigger place.. so it will go from $10 to $20 … for them which is bearable. And it will go from $10 to $20 for us,” Trump said.
But for many online observers, the math wasn’t mathing and the translation was quite the opposite of what Trump intended.
One post read: “How do you reduce the price of something by 1000%? Does that mean drug companies will be paying people to take their drugs?”
Another person added, “Translation: Trump mixed up basic percentages. His words describe raising the cost of a $10 pill to $20 (a price increase of 100%), while calling it a “1000% reduction.” It’s pure word salad with numbers that don’t add up.”
Trump’s supporters weren’t spared. “I need a MAGA to translate what he said…,” one used mocked while another added, “If MAGA believes it, they plan to get free medicine plus a 900% grant.”
Others were concerned that Trump could simply repeat the obviously false figures with little pushback from reporters or his administration.
“Imagine no one in his cabinet or staff telling him that you can’t reduce something by 1000% and just letting him repeat the same regurgitated lies and bullshit.” one user said on X.
Another commenter summed up it up more bluntly: “It’s game over. No pushback at all. Fucking pansies. Once trump has the media and journalists bending at the knee, we are cooked. Almost made it to 250 years. See y’all on the other side.”
Trump has floated versions of this boast before, at times claiming reductions of “1,400%” or even “1,500%.” Economists have pointed out that such figures are impossible — any drop beyond 100% would mean drug companies would actually have to pay customers to take their products.
In his FOX News appearance, the president was referring to his “Most Favored Nation Prescription Drug Pricing” plan, which was an executive order he signed back in May.
It states, “Americans should not be forced to subsidize low-cost prescription drugs and biologics in other developed countries, and face overcharges for the same products in the United States. My Administration will take immediate steps to end global freeloading and, should drug manufacturers fail to offer American consumers the most-favored-nation lowest price, my Administration will take additional aggressive action.”
The executive order did not specifically mention specific examples of drug prices that would be slashed.
The White House did respond to CNN about the impossible math, where officials gave one instance in 2023 where a prescription drug was $521 in the U.S. and only $45 in Australia. CNN stated that it would leave the percentage of the drug roughly around 1000% higher, but doing the math backwards would be a more than 90% reduction of the drug, not what the president claimed.
Historically, U.S. drugs have been higher than in other countries, but that’s mainly due to a lack of government intervention when it comes to price setting. A 2024 report from CNBC stated that health insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies typically have a say in how much a drug costs on the market in the U.S.
Following the executive order, there haven’t been any exact instances where prescription drug costs have lowered due to the order. That could change if the Secretary of Health and Human Services advances a rulemaking plan, in coordination with the Secretary of Commerce, to address what the order calls “price discrimination.”
