REMARKS

Remarks by President Trump on Delivering Lower Prescription Drug Prices for All Americans

HEALTHCARE

Issued on: November 20, 2020

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

2:38 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. This is a very big announcement — the biggest ever, concerning drugs and drug pricing. So, today, I have to tell you it’s a great honor for me to announce that my administration is issuing two groundbreaking rules to very dramatically lower the price of prescription drugs for the American people, especially for our cherished seniors.

We’re pleased to be joined on this occasion by Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, and Administrator of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Seema Verma. Thank you both. Thank you both. And thank you all for being here. Appreciate it.

{snip}

Big pharma ran millions of dollars of negative advertisements against me during the campaign — which I won, by the way. But, you know, we’ll find that out. Almost 74 million votes. We had big pharma against us. We had the media against us. We had big tech against us. We had a lot of dishonesty against us.

But big pharma alone ran millions and millions of dollars in ads. In fact, I looked at it, and I said, “Who is it? Are they — I’ve never seen anything quite like it.” Because I told them, “I’m going to have to do this.” You know, I was put here to do a job. And Pfizer and others were way ahead on vaccines. You wouldn’t have a vaccine, if it weren’t for me, for another four years because FDA would’ve never been able to do what they did — what I forced them to do.

And Pfizer and others even decided to not assess the results of their vaccine; in other words, not come out with a vaccine until just after the election. That’s because of what I did with favored nations and these other elements, instead of their original plan to assess the data in October. So they were going to come out in October, but they decided to delay it because of what I’m doing, which is fine with me, because frankly, this is just a very big thing. A very big thing. What I’m doing here — I don’t know if anybody is going to appreciate it. These people can’t even believe it. Alex, even you can’t believe it, can you? Look at you.

So they waited and waited and waited. And they thought they’d come out with it a few days after the election. And it would’ve probably had an impact. Who knows? Maybe it wouldn’t have. I’m sure they would’ve found the ballots someplace — the Democrats and the group.

These corrupt games will not deter us from doing what is right for the American people. And I will always put American patients first, and I think it could never be shown better than what I’m doing today.

{snip}

Secretary? Go ahead, please.

SECRETARY AZAR: Well, thank you, Mr. President. What an extremely exciting day for American healthcare. On top of the news that you just made, today, Pfizer will be filing an application for an emergency use authorization with the FDA for their COVID-19 vaccine that appears to be 95 percent effective. Within weeks, we could have a decision from FDA, and within 24 hours of that, we will have started distributing millions of doses of safe and effective vaccine to begin protecting our most vulnerable across America.

{snip}

Thank you so much, Mr. President, for making today possible.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Alex, very much. Thank you.

Seema, please.

ADMINISTRATOR VERMA: Masks and hoop earrings don’t work well. (Laughter.)

{snip}

And so I want to thank the President for being a problem solver, willing to be — to think big and to act boldly on behalf of the American patients. His record of success over the last four years is a testimony to that mentality.

Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Seema. Thank you very much.

END

3:00 P.M. EST

REMARKS

Remarks by President Trump After Tour of Apple Manufacturing Plant | Austin, TX
ECONOMY & JOBS

Issued on: November 20, 2019

Flextronics International Ltd.
Austin, Texas

3:52 P.M. CST

THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you very much. It’s an honor to be here. We’re seeing the beginning of a very powerful and important plant. And anybody that followed my campaign, I would always talk about Apple — that I want to see Apple building plants in the United States. And that’s what’s happening. And having — Tim Cook is somebody that I greatly respect — a great leader, a great businessman. And it’s a very special day. For me, this is a very special day.

{snip}

THE PRESIDENT: So if anyone has any questions, go ahead.

Steve, go ahead.

Q What did you make of Ambassador Sondland’s testimony this morning?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think it was fantastic. I think they have to end it now. He said there was no quid pro quo. “The President did absolutely nothing wrong.” If you look at it — I guess you’ve seen me — I took down exactly what he said. He called and he said — he asked me where we — what should he do. I said, “I want nothing.” Then I repeated it: “I want nothing. I want no quid pro quo. Tell the President” — as you know, of Ukraine — “to do the right thing.”

And then, he finished off and he said, “This is the final word from…the President of the United States.” So what did the President want? “I want nothing.” Okay? “I want nothing.”

And let me tell you, it’s a hoax. It’s a disgrace. It’s an embarrassment to our country. Nancy Pelosi has done a terrible job as Speaker. There’s never been a Speaker that’s done so little. And she’s totally incompetent. And Shift Schiff, he stands up and he tells lies all day long. And even with that — so we have no due process, we can’t have anything. And yet, not only did we win today — it’s over. And some of the fair press — of which there isn’t too much — said this thing is over.

So the President of the United States told this guy, who is no — I mean, the question I asked — and it’s the same question that a number of the congressmen have asked: Why didn’t he put this statement into his opening remarks? It’s the most important — important statement there are.

For this country, for our country to be playing this — we’re opening up massive Apple plants. We have the greatest economy in the world. We have the greatest economy that we’ve ever had in the history of our country. We have the best unemployment numbers that we’ve ever had.

But we have a fake press. We have a phony press. We don’t have freedom of the press in this country. We have a phony press. They’re dishonest, most of them. We have some fine people from — fine journalists and reporters and companies. But most of them are fake and phony. CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, The Washington Post, New York Times — these are fake papers. They are fake press. And there is — they should be ashamed of themselves, and they hurt our country.

And, to be honest with you, I think it’s a great tribute to all of those people in swing states and all of those people in this country. We had an Electoral College — as you know, Congressman, we had a landslide — 306 to 223. We had a landslide. And they’re trying to take it away because they can’t do it fairly.

But these are bad people. Nancy Pelosi is incompetent. She’s gotten nothing done in Congress. And now, with their big star witness — this was going to be their star witness. Now, just so you know, I don’t know him very well. He’s a guy that got put there. He wasn’t even on my side. He came over to me — I didn’t even know that. He came over to me after I defeated other people. I defeated them all.

But you know what? What — what, really, we have to learn from this whole thing is the press. They ought to straighten out their act. Because we have the greatest country in the world but we have room to get even greater. But with a fake press, with the media the way it is, they should be ashamed of themselves.

{snip}