Trump says EU ‘ruthlessly’ ripping off U.S. on drug pricing

Trump said that pharmaceutical companies were on board with the executive order seeking to institute sweeping changes to how they price medications, calling them “great” to work with. He had a lower opinion of foreign countries, whom he accused of “ruthlessly” ripping off the U.S., and of Democrats, whom he said had “fought very hard to keep the prices of drugs very, very high.” 

“Drugs only went in one direction, that’s up,” the president said during the latest episode of Hannity, which took place aboard Air Force One. “And now, after studying the industry, it’s a very complex industry, but I figured it out.” 

“A lot of people go shopping in nearby or even far away countries…They’ll buy the same drug for 1/10 of the price as we pay in the United States, and a part of is the power of the drug companies, which is a very big power, but I think a bigger part is the ruthlessness of other nations to screw the United States of America,” he continued. 

Trump specifically targeted the European Union because they “represent a lot of countries, and they’re brutal, according to the drug companies [that] told me this. They’re brutal in negotiations. They say this is what we’re going to pay… And so they get a low price, so we get a high price.”

“And this has been going on for many years, but nobody realized that you could do … I think I figured out the system. A very complex chain of events takes place. And I ended it. And I have to say, the drug companies were great,” he added. “They were great. They said, look, it’s time. They [said] actually ‘look,’” the president reiterated, ‘“they said ‘it’s time.’”

When it announced the order Monday, the White House said that while the U.S. makes up less than 5% of the global population, it accounts for nearly three-quarters of global pharmaceutical profits. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. added that the U.S. spends $1,126 per capita on drugs, a fifth of what Britain spends. 

Trump’s executive order seeks to rectify the discrepancy by directing the U.S. trade representative and the Department of Commerce to take all appropriate action against unreasonable and discriminatory policies in foreign countries that suppress drug prices abroad. The executive order is likely to face legal scrutiny as a similar order issued by the president during his first term was blocked by the courts in 2020.

“Big pharma will either abide by this principle voluntarily or we’ll use the power of the federal government to ensure that we are paying the same price as other countries,” Trump told reporters.

On Monday, Trump suggested drug companies’ ability to make profits in the U.S. wouldn’t be hurt by his executive order because his action would put pressure on Europe to make up the difference by raising their prices. 

“Europe’s going to have to pay a little bit more,” Trump said. “The rest of the world is going to have to pay a little bit more, and America is going to pay a lot less.”

In addition to accusations Europe has rigged the system against the U.S., the president placed blame on Democratic lawmakers for keeping drug prices high.

“…the Democrats fought very hard to keep the prices of drugs very, very high. They really are to blame for this, because they should have done something about it,” he said Tuesday. 

Trump may broker China deal directly with Xi Jinping

In addition to speaking on his drug pricing deal, Trump elaborated on a temporary trade agreement brokered between the U.S. and China over the weekend. The agreement institutes a 90-day pause on a trade war between Washington and Beijing while the two countries seek to hash out a more permanent deal. Under the temporary pause, the U.S. lowered tariffs on Chinese goods to 30% from 145%, while China cut its levies on U.S. products to 10% from 125%.

Trump said Tuesday the agreement represented “the confines of a very, very strong deal.” 

“But the most exciting part of the deal, it was mentioned, but we don’t talk about it yet, that’s the opening up of China to U.S. business. And that would be like opening up a whole new world,” he said. 

Trump also suggested he may personally hammer details of a final deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping, as he did with United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer in another recently-announced trade agreement.  

“I could see that. I mean, I’m not sure that it’ll be necessary, but that happened with the UK,” Trump said. “We were close to a deal….and I called up the Prime Minister [Starmer]… And within about three minutes it was over. We made the deal. It was a good deal for everybody.” 

Trump calls Qatar’s jet gift ‘a beautiful gesture’

Hannity also pressed Trump on a controversial gift Qatar is set to give to the U.S. The president has taken heat over the $400 million jet the Middle Eastern country is offering over bribery concerns and worries about Qatar’s connections to terrorists. 

Trump reiterated Tuesday that the jet, which is expected to be temporarily used as his new Air Force One, is not going to him directly but gifted to the Air Force and ultimately will be sent to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation. The office of the presidency needs a modern aircraft to represent the U.S. well abroad, Trump argued, adding that the country qualifies for the gift as it has long supported Middle Eastern partners on matters of defense. 

TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER TO LOWER DRUG PRICES

The U.S.’s current Air Force One jet “is almost 40 years old,” Trump told Hannity. “And when you land and you see Saudi Arabia, and you see [the United Arab Emirates] and you see Qatar, and you see all these and they have these brand new Boeing 747s mostly, and you see ours next to it… It’s much smaller. It’s much less impressive….And you know, with the United States of America, I believe that we should have the most impressive plane.” 

“So they said to me, we would like to, in effect, ‘we would like to make a gift. You’ve done so many things, and we’d like to make a gift to the Defense Department,’” he continued. “I said, you know, we’ve secured that part of the world for many years… so the U.S. is kind of giving them gifts. It’s called national defense… We give too many gifts, to be honest with you. We give gifts to defend countries that wouldn’t even exist… But I thought it was a beautiful gesture.”