Fox News anchor John Roberts openly challenged a false claim made by Donald Trump about prescription drug prices during an interview with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
The exchange happened Thursday on Fox News’ “America Reports,” following Trump’s primetime address from the White House.
Trump Repeats a Familiar Claim
In his speech, Trump again claimed that prescription drug prices have dropped by “400, 500 and even 600%.”
The president has repeated similar statements in recent months. In July, he said he would force drug companies to cut prices by as much as 1,500%, using figures critics have called impossible.
Roberts Points Out the Math Problem
Roberts directly addressed the issue while speaking with Lutnick.
“Well, if you cut something by 100%, the cost goes down to zero,” Roberts said. “If you cut it by four, five, or 600%, the drug companies are actually paying you to take their products.”
Lutnick smiled and chuckled as Roberts continued.
“So it raises the question: How much of last night’s speech was hyperbole and how much was fact?” Roberts asked.
Reducing a price by 100% would make a drug free. Any larger percentage cut would mean the price goes below zero.
Lutnick Tries to Explain
Lutnick attempted to defend Trump’s statement by reframing the math.
“What he’s saying is if a drug was $100 and you bring the drug down to $13,” Lutnick said. “If you’re looking at it from $13, it’s down seven times!”
“It’s not 600%,” Roberts responded.
Lutnick continued, saying the price would need to rise 700% to return to $100.
“So it all depends on when you look at it,” he said. “You could say it’s down 87% or you could say it would have to go up 700% to be the same one.”
Roberts Sticks to the Facts
Despite the explanation, Roberts made clear that Trump’s original claim did not add up.
Lutnick closed by saying, “But basically what he’s saying, and we all know what he’s saying, is we are hammering the price of drugs down.”
Roberts did not agree with the math, making the moment a rare on-air challenge to Trump’s claims on Fox News.
