Jacob Gardenswartz
“We’re losing 300,000 people a year to fentanyl that comes through our border. We had it down to the lowest number and now it’s worse than it’s ever been.”
— Former President Donald Trump at a July 24 marketing campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina
Former President Donald Trump claimed at a latest marketing campaign rally that greater than 300,000 Americans are dying annually from the artificial opioid drug fentanyl, and that the variety of fentanyl overdoses was the “lowest” throughout his administration and has skyrocketed since.
“We’re losing 300,000 people a year to fentanyl that comes through our border,” Trump advised his supporters at a July 24 marketing campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina. “We had it down to the lowest number and now it’s worse than it’s ever been,” he stated.
Trump’s figures seem to don’t have any foundation the truth is. Government statistics present the number of drug overdose deaths per yr is hovering round 100,000 to 110,000, with opioid-related deaths at about 81,000. That’s sufficient that the federal government has labeled opioid-related overdoses an “epidemic,” however nowhere near the quantity Trump cited.
Moreover, although the variety of opioid deaths has risen since Trump left workplace, it’s incorrect to say they had been the “lowest” whereas he was president.
Numbers Are High, however Nowhere Near Trump’s Claim
Trump marketing campaign nationwide press secretary Karoline Leavitt wouldn’t remark particularly on the supply for Trump’s statistics. She as a substitute despatched KFF Health News an email with several bullet points concerning the opioid disaster below the heading: “DRUGS ARE POURING OVER HARRIS’ OPEN BORDER INTO OUR COMMUNITIES.”
One such bullet famous that there have been “112,000 fatal drug overdoses” final yr and linked to a narrative from NPR reporting that reality — straight rebutting Trump’s personal declare of 300,000 fentanyl deaths. Additionally, the quantity NPR reported is an total determine, not for fentanyl-related deaths solely.
More recent government figures estimated that there have been 107,543 whole drug overdose deaths in 2023, with an estimated 74,702 of these involving fentanyl. Those figures had been in keeping with what consultants on the subject advised KFF Health News.
“The number of actual deaths is probably significantly higher,” stated Andrew Kolodny, medical director for the Opioid Policy Research Collaborative at Brandeis University, noting that many such overdose deaths go uncounted by authorities researchers.
“But I don’t know where one would get that number of 300,000,” Kolodny added.
Trump’s declare that fentanyl deaths had been the “lowest” throughout his administration and at the moment are worse than ever can also be off the mark.
Overdose deaths — particularly these from artificial opioids equivalent to fentanyl — began climbing steadily within the Nineteen Nineties. When Trump took workplace in January 2017, the variety of overdose deaths associated to artificial opioids was about 21,000. By January 2021, when he left the White House, that tally was nearing 60,000, information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Vital Statistics System reveals. Deaths involving artificial opioids continued to extend after Trump left workplace.
“There’s some truth to saying that there are more Americans dying [of opioids] than ever before,” Kolodny stated. “But again, if you were to look at trends during the Trump administration, deaths just pretty much kept getting worse.”
In the final yr, although, statistics present that overdose numbers have plateaued or fallen barely, although it’s too quickly to say whether or not that development will maintain.
Given that Trump’s claims about fentanyl got here when discussing the southern border “invasion,” it’s price noting that, according to the U.S. government, the overwhelming majority of fentanyl caught being smuggled into the nation illegally comes through authorized ports of entry. Moreover, nearly 90% of individuals convicted of fentanyl drug trafficking in 2022 had been U.S. residents, an evaluation by the Cato Institute, a libertarian suppose tank, confirmed. That yr, U.S. residents obtained 12 occasions as many fentanyl trafficking convictions as did immigrants who had been within the U.S. with out authorization, the evaluation confirmed.
Our Ruling
Trump stated, “We’re losing 300,000 people a year to fentanyl that comes through our border. We had it down to the lowest number and now it’s worse than it’s ever been.”
Annual U.S. fentanyl deaths have elevated since he left workplace, however Trump’s declare about 300,000 deaths has no foundation the truth is and is contradicted by figures his press secretary shared.
Trump is mistaken to say that overdoses had been the bottom when he was president. Moreover, Trump continues to hyperlink fentanyl trafficking to unlawful immigration — a declare statistics don’t help.
We fee Trump’s declare Pants on Fire!
Our Sources
Cato Institute, “U.S. Citizens Were 89% of Convicted Fentanyl Traffickers in 2022,” Aug. 23, 2023.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “U.S. Overdose Deaths Decrease in 2023, First Time Since 2018,” May 15, 2024.
C-SPAN, Former President Trump Campaigns in Charlotte, North Carolina, July 24, 2024.
Department of Homeland Security, Fact Sheet: DHS Is on the Front Lines Combating Illicit Opioids, Including Fentanyl, Dec. 22, 2023.
Email alternate with Karoline Leavitt, nationwide press secretary for Donald J. Trump for President, July 29, 2024.
National Vital Statistics System, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Provisional Drug Overdose Death Counts, July 7, 2024.
NPR, “In 2023 Fentanyl Overdoses Ravaged the U.S. and Fueled a New Culture War Fight,” Dec. 28, 2023.
Phone interview with Andrew Kolodny, medical director for the Opioid Policy Research Collaborative at Brandeis University, July 31, 2024.
KFF Health News is a nationwide newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about well being points and is likely one of the core working packages at KFF—an impartial supply of well being coverage analysis, polling, and journalism. Learn extra about KFF.
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