Trump-style math claims drug prices cut by over 100%, questioned as manufacturers would have to pay consumers
Trump claimed he cut prescription drug prices by 'over 100%'. Critics and fact-checkers point out the mathematical impossibility, noting that a reduction of over 100% means manufacturers would pay consumers.
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- 📰 Published: April 24, 2026 at 21:16
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(Central News Agency, Washington, 24th, comprehensive foreign report) US President Donald Trump defended his previous claim that his administration successfully negotiated a prescription drug "price cut of over 100%." However, the outside world remains largely skeptical, because this implies the drug price would drop below $0, theoretically forcing pharmaceutical companies to pay consumers.
Associated Press reported that when Trump announced the drug price reduction agreement with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals yesterday, he admitted he had previously boasted of bringing prices down by "500%, 600%," but quickly added, "Sometimes we also say 50%, 60%," calling it "a different way of calculating."
Trump said, "This makes it easier for everyone to understand. It's two ways of calculating, but either way it's the same."
At the same event on drug prices, Trump also claimed that the ongoing Iran war, currently at seven and a half weeks, matches his previous estimate that the conflict would last four to six weeks.
Trump further asserted that his 2017 presidential inauguration had the exact same number of attendees as civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech, suggesting his inauguration might have even had more people.
US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. mentioned at the same event that he had sparred over this issue just the day before during a congressional hearing with Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren. Warren reminded him that claiming a price cut of over 100% would mean "pharmaceutical companies have to pay the consumers."
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. argued that pharmaceutical companies first hiked the prices of highly demanded drugs by over 100%, and then Trump significantly reduced the prices, meaning he eliminated the over 100% price increase.
He stated, "If the original price was $100 and it went up to $600, that is a 600% increase." The Associated Press pointed out this statement is incorrect because while 600 is 600% of 100, the actual increase is 500%.
The Associated Press explained that prices can indeed rise by more than 100%; for example, a product going from $1 to $2.10 is a 110% increase. In practice, however, a price is highly unlikely to decrease by more than 100%, because that would mean the price drops to 0 (a 100% decrease) or even becomes a negative value, creating a situation where the pharmaceutical company would theoretically have to pay the consumer.
Associated Press reported that when Trump announced the drug price reduction agreement with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals yesterday, he admitted he had previously boasted of bringing prices down by "500%, 600%," but quickly added, "Sometimes we also say 50%, 60%," calling it "a different way of calculating."
Trump said, "This makes it easier for everyone to understand. It's two ways of calculating, but either way it's the same."
At the same event on drug prices, Trump also claimed that the ongoing Iran war, currently at seven and a half weeks, matches his previous estimate that the conflict would last four to six weeks.
Trump further asserted that his 2017 presidential inauguration had the exact same number of attendees as civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech, suggesting his inauguration might have even had more people.
US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. mentioned at the same event that he had sparred over this issue just the day before during a congressional hearing with Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren. Warren reminded him that claiming a price cut of over 100% would mean "pharmaceutical companies have to pay the consumers."
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. argued that pharmaceutical companies first hiked the prices of highly demanded drugs by over 100%, and then Trump significantly reduced the prices, meaning he eliminated the over 100% price increase.
He stated, "If the original price was $100 and it went up to $600, that is a 600% increase." The Associated Press pointed out this statement is incorrect because while 600 is 600% of 100, the actual increase is 500%.
The Associated Press explained that prices can indeed rise by more than 100%; for example, a product going from $1 to $2.10 is a 110% increase. In practice, however, a price is highly unlikely to decrease by more than 100%, because that would mean the price drops to 0 (a 100% decrease) or even becomes a negative value, creating a situation where the pharmaceutical company would theoretically have to pay the consumer.