RFK Jr. Defends Trump's Math on Drug Prices: Claims 600% Reduction When It's Actually 98.3%

Trump Administration's Alternative Math Under Fire

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. found himself in hot water during a Senate Finance Committee hearing this week, attempting to defend President Trump's mathematically impossible claims about prescription drug price reductions through the administration's TrumpRx program.

The Mathematical Impossibility

When pressed by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) about Trump's repeated claims of slashing drug prices by as much as 600%, Kennedy offered a stunning defense: "President Trump has his own way of calculating."

Kennedy attempted to justify this alternative arithmetic by explaining, "There's two ways of calculating percentages. If you have a $600 drug, and you reduce it to $10, that's a 600% reduction."

The problem? Basic mathematics shows this is completely wrong. A reduction from $600 to $10 represents a 98.3% decrease, not 600%. If Trump's claimed 600% reduction were accurate, pharmaceutical companies would actually be paying consumers $3,000 every time they picked up their prescription.

Academic Response to 'Alternative Math'

Kit Yates, a mathematician at the University of Bath, expressed disbelief at Kennedy's mathematical revisionism: "We've known for a while that the USA's current regime have been out for science, but I never thought they would try to mess with math! You can't just redefine how you calculate percentages."

The incident highlights a troubling pattern of the Trump administration creating its own version of objective reality, extending beyond politics into basic mathematical principles.

TrumpRx: Higher Prices, Not Savings

Warren's questioning revealed an even more concerning issue: TrumpRx often charges significantly more than market alternatives. The senator provided damning examples:

• A brand-name heartburn medication sells for $200 on TrumpRx while a generic version costs just $16 at Costco
• A heart arrhythmia drug listed at $336 on TrumpRx has a generic alternative available for $12 at Costco

These examples expose TrumpRx as potentially misleading consumers who believe they're getting government-negotiated discounts when they're actually paying premium prices.

The Big Pharma Connection

Warren uncovered another troubling aspect of the TrumpRx scheme: pharmaceutical companies receive exemptions from Trump's 100% tariffs on imported patented medicines in exchange for listing their drugs on the platform.

"Think about that: Big Pharma makes billions of dollars in tariff relief by listing their drugs on TrumpRx, and then they don't even lower the costs on many of these drugs," Warren explained. "That is a great deal for Big Pharma."

Independent Analysis Confirms Problems

A March report from the Center for American Progress (CAP) found that TrumpRx offered genuinely lower prices on "exactly one" of the 54 medications listed. Nearly one-third of the drugs had cheaper generic alternatives available elsewhere, which the website failed to mention.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that at least 350 branded medications are scheduled for price increases in 2026, including COVID, RSV, and shingles vaccines, as well as major cancer treatments.

Sanders Weighs In

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) didn't mince words when addressing Kennedy's claim that Americans now pay "the lowest costs in the world rather than the highest for prescription drugs."

"That is an absurd statement," Sanders declared. "Nobody in the world believes that."

The Bigger Picture

This controversy encapsulates broader concerns about the Trump administration's relationship with truth and transparency. When government officials begin redefining basic mathematical principles to support political narratives, it raises serious questions about accountability and public trust.

The TrumpRx scandal reveals how policy initiatives marketed as consumer benefits may actually serve corporate interests while misleading the very people they claim to help. As Americans continue grappling with high prescription drug costs, they deserve honest information about pricing and genuine solutions, not mathematical gymnastics designed to obscure reality.