United States – In a post on a social media platform called Truth Social on Saturday, former President Trump sought to make himself part of the story on insulin pricing.
Trump Takes Credit for Insulin Price Reduction
“Low INSULIN PRICING was gotten for millions of Americans by me, and the Trump Administration, not by Crooked [President Biden,]” Trump said in the Truth Social post. “He had NOTHING to do with it. It was all done long before he so sadly entered office. All he does is try to take credit for things done by others, in this case, ME!”
Previously, President Biden marked the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), also known as the Democrats’ climate, tax, and drug pricing bill, as an important legislation while approving the USD 35 cap on insulin for those with Medicare.
“Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, instead of paying USD 400 a month for insulin, seniors on Medicare will only pay USD 35 a month,” the President said in a post on the social platform X late last year.
Biden Campaign’s Response
Ammar Moussa, a Biden campaign spokesperson, used Trump’s own words to share a post on X in which the former president ‘failed’ to ensure that the maximum cost of insulin is set.
“It is that simple to know that Donald Trump has a weakness. This is a weakness that Trump displayed when he made a grand promise to cap insulin costs and did nothing; luckily, President Biden took on big pharma, worked with the Republicans, and gave millions of Americans affordable insulin,” Moussa said.
The Biden campaign has specifically highlighted the IRA as a campaigning point around which it seeks to focus the 2024 presidential elections, and Biden has been particularly vocal about the IRA as one of his major accomplishments during his time in office.
This messaging also aims to make a hoped-for comparison with Trump.
“Donald Trump was too weak to take on Big Pharma and lower prescription drug prices for seniors as President — but Joe Biden got it done. As a result, millions are seeing lower prices on the lifesaving medications they rely on,” Biden campaign spokesperson Seth Schuster previously said in a December statement to The Hill.
Schuster also pointed out how even if the former President is allowed to return to the White House for another term, “prices will soar even higher and Americans who today can afford their USD35 insulin may be left with no option than deciding whether to pay rent or their vital medicine.”
The Hills contacted Biden’s campaign.