RFK Jr. Defends Trump’s Math as Senate Grills Drug Pricing Claims

Senator Elizabeth Warren challenged the premise during the hearing, noting that a 600% price cut on a $600 medication would imply that pharmaceutical companies were paying consumers $3,000 to accept the drug. Kennedy responded by arguing that dropping a $600 price to $10 constitutes a 600% reduction, a claim that contradicts basic arithmetic. Mathematician Kit Yates of the University of Bath criticized the assertion, stating that one cannot simply redefine the fundamental rules of mathematics to suit a political narrative.

Beyond the numerical dispute, Warren exposed how the TrumpRx website functions as a misleading portal for consumers. She cited instances where the site lists brand-name drugs at hundreds of dollars while identical generic versions are available at retailers like Costco for a fraction of the cost. Warren further alleged that pharmaceutical companies gain exemptions from the president’s 100% tariffs on imported medicines in exchange for listing products on the site. A report from the Center for American Progress supported these concerns, finding that the platform offered lower prices on only one of 54 medications examined, while failing to disclose cheaper generic alternatives for nearly a third of its inventory.