Trump baselessly accuses drug industry of fueling impeachment push
President Donald Trump charged Thursday without evidence that the pharmaceutical industry was behind House Democrats' impeachment proceedings, suggesting it was payback for his administration's effort to lower drug costs.
"Lowering the cost of prescription drugs, taking on the pharmaceutical companies, you think that’s easy, it’s not easy. It’s not easy. ... I wouldn’t be surprised if the hoax didn’t come a little bit from some of the people that we’re taking on." Trump said.
"They’re very powerful, they spend a lot of money, spend I think more money than any other group in the world actually in terms of lobbying and lobbying abilities. And I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the nonsense that we all have to go through, but that I go through, wouldn’t be surprised if it was from some of these industries like pharmaceuticals that we take on."
Trump presented no evidence supporting the claim.
"Not to be so frank, but that is a ridiculous question," said Holly Campbell, spokesperson for PhRMA, when asked about Trump's statement.
The president was speaking at a Florida event to sign an executive order aimed at beefing up Medicare and its offshoot run by private health plans, Medicare Advantage. Trump has supported moves in Congress to lower drug prices, although the status of that legislation is unclear. On Wednesday he brushed off House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's offer to help him pass a drug pricing measure, calling her efforts "camouflage."
Pelosi opened an impeachment inquiry last week, propelled by a whistleblower who said Trump had asked the president of Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden’s son Hunter as a "favor" to him.
Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine