Trump Claims 1,500% Drug Price Cut, an Arithmetic Impossibility

In August 2025, President Trump repeatedly told reporters and audiences that his administration had already cut prescription drug prices by as much as 1,400 to 1,500 percent, tying the claim to a planned "most favored nation" pricing policy meant to align U.S. prices with those paid in other wealthy countries. Fact-checkers at CNN, the Associated Press, and other outlets noted the figure is mathematically impossible: a 100 percent cut would already bring a price to zero, so no price can fall by more than 100 percent.

Health economists said no evidence supported a price drop of that scale, and the underlying most-favored-nation proposal remained unimplemented and unverified at the time of the statements. The episode illustrated a recurring pattern of the administration announcing dramatic results before any policy had taken effect.

The claim spread through conservative media largely unchallenged, while independent fact-checkers rated it false. No retraction or correction followed from the White House.