Trump promises that "we will raise a drug-free generation of American children." He says the "scourge of drug addiction in America will stop. It will stop."
Trump on fentanyl: "I told China: DON'T SEND IT. And I told Mexico: DON'T SEND IT."
"We're wasting our time" if we don't get tough with drug dealers, Trump says, "and that toughness includes the death penalty."
Trump claims that drug dealers "will kill thousands of people" in their lifetime. Experts have told me that this number is ridiculous.
He then says that such people get 30 days in jail or a fine when caught. This is also ridiculous.
He then says that such people get 30 days in jail or a fine when caught. This is also ridiculous.
"I don't want to leave at the end of seven years and have this problem," Trump says, getting a plug for his re-election into his anti-opioid speech.
"A lot of voters in this room, I see that," he adds.
"A lot of voters in this room, I see that," he adds.
Whether it's immigration, drugs or trade, Trump has a habit of inaccurately suggesting that the acts of individual foreign people are controlled by foreign governments.
"We have to come up with a solution where we come up with a painkiller that's not so addictive," Trump says. "...We're going to find that answer."
Trump says he wants a federal lawsuit against pharma companies that make opioids. He also says they have to combat the problem of over-prescribing, plans to cut nationwide opioid prescriptions by one third.
Trump calls for "great commercials" during "the right shows" that demonstrate to children "how bad" drugs are. "And we'll make them very, very bad commercials...unsavoury situations."
Trump, suddenly getting severe in tone as he talks about Mexico, says eventually Democrats will agree with him that they need to build a wall "to keep the damn drugs out."
Just an egregious lie from Trump about Democrats: "They're trying to tie DACA to the wall and the wall to DACA." *HE* is doing that. Democrats just want DACA protected, have only agreed to wall funding because he insists.
Interesting listening to Trump on opioids: he is reading some addiction policy proposals that have pretty broad support, but the ones he sounds personally passionate about are a) death penalty for dealers; b) new TV commercials; c) the wall.
Trump's opioids speech has morphed into an immigration speech. He is now talking again about how MS-13 members prefer to use knives to guns to inflict maximum pain.
Trump calling an ICE agent to the stage: "I love tough guys. We need tough guys."
Trump promises "so many much tougher penalties than we've ever had," "focusing on" the death penalty for "the big pushers, the ones that are really killing so many people."
Trump is now telling the story about how unnamed countries that put drug dealers to death don't have a drug addiction problem. He has previously told this story about China, which does have an addiction problem.
Trump calls overdose-reversing drug Narcan "amazing...actually incredible." (Not everyone on the Trumpian right feels that way, so wasn't a given.)
Trump eventually does nod to critics of overdose-reversing drugs, adding that some drug users are revived "and they do it again and again and again."
Mark your calendars: Trump says he'll have a "major news conference" at the White House "in about a month" on driving down prescription drug prices.
Trump calls up Health Secretary Alex Azar, a former pharma exec, and asks him to make remarks: "Who knows better than the guy running the drug company, Eli Lilly?'
Trump promises that you'll be seeing prescription drug prices fall "really substantially" in the near future. His administration predicts a 5.3% increase this year, 6.3% over the next decade.
Trump promises to help ex-inmates get drug treatment, eliminate the restriction on Medicaid funding for residential treatment at facilities with more than 16 beds.
Trump: "We will defeat this crisis. We will protect our beautiful children. And we will ensure that tomorrow is better, brighter, stronger and greater than ever before. Because as long as we have trust in our citizens, pride in our country and faith in our God, we will not fail."
"We're going to win," Trump concludes his speech on the opioid crisis.
In one apparent slip into Duterte-ian language, Trump said he'd pursue the death penalty for drug "abusers." It seemed clear in context that he was referring imprecisely to drug dealers.
