US President Donald Trump on Friday mocked a wealthy friend while speaking about high drug prices in the United States, sharing a story about the friend’s use of the weight-loss drug Ozempic.
Trump made
the remarks while talking about funding for rural healthcare. During his speech, he shifted to an anecdote about what he called a “very rich” and “very powerful” friend whose weight-loss treatment, he said, did not work.
“A friend of mine, very smart, very rich, very powerful, but he’s very fat,” Trump told the audience. “He took the fat drug. I won’t say which one. It was Ozempic.”
Trump said the friend travels often for work and recently complained about how much the same drug costs in different countries.
“He goes to London all the time,” Trump said. “He told me, ‘In New York, I pay $1,300 for this drug. In London, I paid only $87.’”
Trump said the medicine was the same in both places and was made by the same company. He used the example to argue that Americans are paying far more for prescription drugs than people in other countries.
He also said he spoke directly to the friend about the treatment.
“I told him the drug does not work on you,” Trump said. “I saw him recently — he’s actually fatter than ever. I said, you need to try something else. But it does work for many people.”
Trump said the friend was not offended by the comment. “He said, ‘Thanks, you make me feel good,’” Trump recalled.
The remarks came as Trump continued to push lawmakers to improve healthcare in rural areas and cut prescription drug prices across the country.




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