Statement from Margarida Jorge, campaign director for Lower Drug Prices Now, in response to Trump’s false claims in the presidential debate that he’s lowering drug prices:

“Just like just about everything else he has said over the last five years, Donald Trump’s claims on lowering drug prices in last night’s debate, particularly his outrageous claim about insulin, were nothing but spin and lies. Calling insulin ‘cheap as water’ reveals just how out of touch this President is with the millions of Americans who must continue to ration critical medicines every single day because of Trump’s failure to follow through on his promises to hold Big Pharma accountable and lower drug prices.

What we saw last night was nothing but sheer desperation meant to mislead seniors who have been abandoning his campaign in droves. Drug prices for Americans are the highest in the world, and three and a half years into Trump’s presidency — in the middle of a pandemic — the prices have continued to go up faster than any other medical good or service.

Here is the truth: Trump has done far more for drug corporations than seniors, families or patients. While Americans are being gouged for their medicines, drug corporations have received billions in tax breaks from Trump, billions more for COVID vaccines, and will potentially receive billions more annually if the President is successful in stacking the Supreme Court and repealing the Affordable Care Act.

Rather than passing legislation introduced by Democrats to empower Medicare to negotiate drug prices, Trump promised seniors one-off coupons that do nothing to stop corporations from hiking prices anytime they want. Trump’s Administration has refused to guarantee that COVID treatments developed with taxpayer money will be affordable, opting instead to leave pricing decisions to the drug corporations.

It’s time for President Trump and Senate Republicans to put our health care ahead of their politics by holding drug corporations accountable for lowering prices.”