Now Reading
Trump says it’s “great” to see Pelosi’s drug price bill after McConnell smears it as “socialism”

Trump says it’s “great” to see Pelosi’s drug price bill after McConnell smears it as “socialism”

The occasionally amusing disconnect between the President of the United States and the rest of his party was put on display this afternoon when Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) found themselves at odds over a bill proposed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) that would allow Medicare to negotiate prices for at least 25 and as many as 250 medicines with pharmaceutical companies.

Republicans beholden to the bloodsucking and dope-peddling pharmaceutical industry immediately slammed the proposal, complaining that an industry that made $775 billion in profit in 2015 wouldn’t be able to afford to develop new medicines. On cue, Sen. Mitch McConnell sneered that the bill was dead on arrival and dismissed it as “socialist price controls.”

Trump, on the other hand, apparently hadn’t gotten the memo and took to Twitter to say that it was “great to see!”

For what it’s worth, Trump has spoken at length about the need to lower the exorbitant drug prices paid by the American people and if he’s actually willing to work with the House to get this done, we shouldn’t be mad about it — especially if he’s snubbing McConnell at the same time.

The bill itself is, as is sadly to be expected, much less ambitious than progressive activists would have wanted. Complaining that they were cut out from the drafting process entirely, they worry that super expensive drugs for rare conditions will be left out and want to push for more drugs to be covered by the bill. But they’re happy progress is being made at all — and with the Senate as gridlocked as it is, anything that might actually get passed and have some kind of tangible benefit for the American patient has to be considered a win.

Original reporting by Sarah Karlin-Smith and Adam Cancryn at POLITICO.

 

Colin Taylor
Opinion columnist and former editor-in-chief of Occupy Democrats. He graduated from Bennington College with a Bachelor's degree in history and political science. He now focuses on advancing the cause of social justice and equality in America.

© 2022 Occupy Democrats. All Rights Reserved.

Scroll To Top