President Donald Trump shared a story about his “seriously overweight” friend as he illustrated his latest efforts to reduce prescription prices.
The president told about the “brilliant businessman” who had taken the “fat shot” and pointed out the outrageous price discrepancies of the pills, as he spoke Monday, following an announcement about cutting prescription drug prices by up to 80 percent.
BREAKING: @POTUS just signed an executive order implementing Most Favored Nation prescription drug pricing — which will deliver dramatically lower drug prices for the American people.
Here’s what it does:
REDUCING DRUG PRICES FOR AMERICANS AND TAXPAYERS: Today, President Donald… pic.twitter.com/wjT4A5XofI
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 12, 2025
“So what’s been happening is we’ve been subsidizing other countries throughout the world, not just in Europe, throughout the world. European Union was the most difficult, from what I understand,” Trump said in remarks from the White House.
“I mean, I’ll tell you a story. A friend of mine who’s a businessman, very, very very top guy. Most of you would have heard of him, a highly neurotic, brilliant businessman, seriously overweight, and he takes the fat, the fat shot drug. And he called me up, and he said, ‘President,’ he used to call me Donald, now he calls me president, so that’s nice respect,” he continued.
But he’s a rough guy, smart guy. Very successful, very rich. I wouldn’t even know how we would know this, because he’s got comments,” he said.
“’President, could I ask you a question?’ ‘What?’ ‘I’m in London, and I just paid for this damn fat drug I take.’ I said,’“it’s not working.’ He said, he said, ‘I just paid $88, and in New York I pay $1,300. What the hell is going on?’ He said, ‘So I checked. And it’s the same box, made in the same plant, by the same company. It’s the identical pill that I buy in New York. And here I’m paying $88 in London. In New York, I’m paying $1,300,'” Trump said, recounting his conversation.
“Now, this is a great businessman, so, but he’s not familiar with this crazy situation that we have. But he was stunned. But it was just one of those stories,” Trump said.
“And I brought it up with the drug companies, represented by somebody who’s very, very smart, good person too. And we argued about it for about half hour. And then finally he just said, because they can’t justify it, he just said, ‘Look, you got me,'” the president recalled.
On Sunday, Trump teased the coming executive order that would be “one of the most important and impactful.”
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 11, 2025
The president signed the order Monday, declaring that the U.S. “will no longer tolerate profiteering and price gouging from Big Pharma.”
“Even though the United States is home to only 4% of the world’s population, pharmaceutical companies make more than two thirds of their profits in America. So think of that with 4% of the population, the pharmaceutical companies make most of their money. Most of their profits from America. That’s not a good thing,” Trump said.
The president was joined by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and others at the press conference.
“We now have a president who is a man of his word, who has the courage… he can’t be bought, unlike most of the politicians in this country — and he is standing here for the American people,” Kennedy said.
.@SecKennedy: “We now have a President who is a man of his word, who has the courage… he can’t be bought, unlike most of the politicians in this country — and he is standing here for the American people.” pic.twitter.com/0m6wzUWjpZ
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 12, 2025
