President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he considers himself the “affordability president” due to his historic agreements with pharmaceutical companies aimed at reducing prescription costs. He urged Republicans to improve their messaging regarding how much prices are decreasing in the United States as the mid-term elections approach next year.
“Because I have invoked FAVORED NATIONS STATUS FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, DRUG PRICES ARE FALLING AT LEVELS NEVER SEEN BEFORE, 500%, 600%, 700%, and more,” Trump wrote on his TruthSocial platform. “No other President has been able to do this, BUT I HAVE! This is also the answer to much less expensive, and far better, HEALTHCARE!
“Republicans, remember, this was done by us, and nobody else,” he added. “This is a revolution in medicine, the biggest and most important event, EVER. If this story is properly told, we should win the Midterm Elections in RECORD NUMBERS. I AM THE AFFORDABILITY PRESIDENT. TALK LOUDLY AND PROUDLY!”
The Trump administration has announced a series of actions aimed at lowering consumer costs, including fuel, food staples and prescription medications, while seeking to slow the pace of inflation that accelerated under the Biden administration, Just the News reported.
The White House said President Trump secured agreements with several pharmaceutical companies to reduce prices. Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly committed to lowering the cost of their GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, and AstraZeneca pledged to cap the prices it charges Medicaid at levels no higher than those offered in other countries.
Trump signed an executive order earlier this month rolling back tariffs on a broad range of grocery staples — including beef, coffee, tomatoes, and bananas — in a move aimed at lowering food prices and fulfilling his pledge to make life more affordable for American families.
The order exempts certain imported agricultural products from reciprocal tariffs imposed under earlier trade actions.
The White House said the changes target items that have seen sharp price increases or cannot be produced in sufficient quantities domestically.
“I have determined that certain agricultural products shall not be subject to the reciprocal tariff imposed [under previous orders],” the president’s directive said.
The move follows months of economic debate over the role of tariffs in driving up consumer prices. Trump’s team has long defended the duties as a cost borne by foreign exporters, not U.S. consumers. But the decision to scale them back has prompted critics to argue it amounts to a quiet acknowledgment that tariffs can, in fact, contribute to inflation.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent previewed the announcement earlier this week, telling Fox News that the administration would lift tariffs on imported items Americans rely on daily but don’t grow domestically.
“You’re going to see some substantial announcements over the next couple of days in terms of things we don’t grow here in the United States — coffee being one of them, bananas, other fruits, things like that,” Bessent said. “That will bring the prices down very quickly.”
The White House cast the move as part of Trump’s broader economic strategy to “restore affordability,” particularly as Democrats have made rising household costs a central line of attack. Inflation has cooled from pandemic-era highs but remains stubborn across key food categories.
“Tariffs are a tax hike on foreign countries that have been ripping us off,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said earlier this year, insisting the administration’s trade agenda was designed to protect American industry.
The tariff rollback follows a series of bilateral trade deals struck with Argentina, Guatemala, Ecuador, and El Salvador, which will slash duties on imported produce that cannot be grown in bulk in the U.S., such as bananas.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the move reflects the natural give-and-take of international negotiations.
“Now we have a critical mass of agreements with countries who make this stuff, so this is good timing,” Greer said on CNBC.
He characterized Trump’s approach as using tariffs to gain leverage and then adjusting them when American consumers or businesses would benefit.
