Is Actual Math not important in the Trump Administration?

Late last year, President Trump said he negotiated directly with drug companies and foreign countries to slash pharmaceutical prices. He said drugs and pharmaceuticals could be slashed by as much as 400%, 500%, and even 600%. If that's true, I want the name of his accountant. No item can be more than 100% off the actual price.

Today, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., our Health Secretary, argued that the president uses a different math. He quoted as saying, "If you have a $600 drug, and you reduce the amount to $10, that's a 600% reduction in price. Kennedy is wrong in his math while trying to maintain staying on Trump's good graces. If you reduce the price by $590, a 600% reduction is incorrect; it's actually a 98% reduction. You can't have more than a 100% reduction, otherwise, it would be lower than zero, and a company is not going to be giving away its products. Especially if they once retailed at $600. Sometimes, these pharma companies charge high prices, especially if the drug is new and effective—they're trying to recoup R&D costs. Sometimes, pharma companies claim they're recouping R&D costs even though the R&D occurred some time ago.

Who are you going to believe? Trump or math???

It's remarkable to mention that after his exaggerated and unrealistic claim, he was quoted as saying, "Nobody's ever seen anything like it." Listen, Mr. Genius, the reason why nobody's ever seen anything like it is that it's never happened. You boast that you're the greatest at making deals, yet you show no ability to understand basic math. You claim to be a masterful businessman, but you do not display the ability to understand percentages. In my mind, there's a certain amount of incongruency here!

Further Commentary: First, our president should use terminology that is accurate and easy to understand. You shouldn't need others in his administration to clarify things for him. Especially if he's a stable genius, it should be a breeze to make his point. Two, doesn't Trump realize what a ridiculous thing to say? He's trying to curry favor with his base, but it's deceitful. If he's lowered prices on certain drugs by 98%, shouldn't that suffice? Why does he have to embarrass himself by using unrealistic figures? (Maybe I have an answer to the above question.) Three, if he cared, for little media coverage, there wasn't an outrage among the electorate, and in particular, his base. If he cared, he'd stop pushing for a 1.5 trillion dollar defense budget next year and instead, prioritize domestic issues by improving public education in the United States. Four, Kennedy should consider the Kennedy Family Name legacy and have some scruples. Besides some of his medical quackery, why denigrate yourself by trying to appease the individual who will never have enough appeasers?

Is Actual Math not important in the Trump Administration?