Trump and aides defend mathematically impossible drug price reduction figures at Regeneron announcement event

At the Thursday Oval Office event, Trump acknowledged having stated that drug prices had been cut by "500%, 600%" but added, "We also sometimes say 50%, 60%" and described the higher figures as a "different kind of calculation" that could go up to "70, 80 and 90%." He said, "People understand that better," and added, "But they're two ways of calculating it" and "either way, it doesn't make any difference." Standard mathematics does not support a price reduction exceeding 100% unless a price falls to zero and continues into negative territory — meaning consumers would effectively be paid to acquire a product.

Kennedy, who had faced questioning on the subject the previous day at a Senate hearing from Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, attempted at Thursday's event to provide a framework for Trump's figures. Kennedy said that if a drug's price rose from $100 to $600, "that would be a 600% rise," and that a drop back from $600 to $100 would therefore represent a "600% savings." Trump interjected, "That's right." According to both AP and CNN, Kennedy's framing contained multiple errors: an increase from $100 to $600 is a 500% increase, not 600%, and a reduction from $600 to $100 is an 83.3% reduction, not a 600% reduction.

CNN reported that this was not the first instance of Trump administration officials attempting to explain the figures. In October, Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, stated at an event that a price reduction from $242 to $10 was "too high to calculate without a more studied approach." CNN reported the actual reduction is 95.9%. In a subsequent NBC interview, Oz described Trump's method as treating a price drop from $100 to $50 as "100% cheaper" because the amount removed equals the amount remaining — a calculation CNN described as producing a figure of 50%, not 100%.