Donald Trump has vowed to slash prescription drug prices by signing an executive order on Monday, saying he will reduce their cost by 59 percent.
“For the first time in many years, we'll slash the cost of prescription drugs, and we will bring fairness to America,” he said.
Trump also faces a Maga backlash for his plan to accept a gift of a $400 million Boeing jet from the Qatari royal family, to be used as the new Air Force One.
Trump ally Laura Loomer says it would be a “stain” on the administration, while democrats have called it “bribery”.
But the president said only a “stupid person” would say no to a “free, very expensive aeroplane”.
The president will travel to Qatar as part of a tour of the Middle East, his first overseas trip besides the funeral of Pope Francis since his inauguration in January.
It comes after the United States and China struck a deal to slash tariffs by 115 percent for at least 90 days as both countries seek to end the trade war.
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Key Points
- Drug prices going down 'at a level nobody has ever seen', President says
- Trump claims U.S trade intervention "stopped the nuclear conflict" between India and Pakistan
- U.S and China reach tariff deal, slashing duties by 115 percent
- President says Qatari offer of plane a 'great gesture'
- Maga ally to Trump condemns plan to accept $400m jet gift a 'stain' on the administration
What does the new executive order on drug prices do?
16:52
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Rachel Clun
A little earlier, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing drugmakers to lower the prices of their medicines to align with what other countries pay.
The order gives drugmakers price targets in the next 30 days, and will take further action to lower prices if those companies do not make "significant progress" towards those goals within six months of the order being signed.
Trump told a press conference that the government would impose tariffs on companies if the prices in the U.S. did not match those in other countries and said he was seeking cuts of between 59 percent and 90 percent.
"Everybody should equalize. Everybody should pay the same price," Trump said.
A recap of Donald Trump's press conference
16:36
,
Rachel Clun
Donald Trump’s press conference a little earlier covered a lot of ground, so here is a brief recap of what he said.
- Trump claims trade threats with India and Pakistan helped broker the ceasefire and stop nuclear war
- He said the new tariff deal with China - reducing reciprocal tariffs by 115 percent - does not including cars, aluminum and steel
- The President vows to slash the price of drugs by “60, 70, 80, 90 percent” by forcing pharmaceutical companies to charge the U.S. the lowest price they charge other developed nations.
- Trump said he wants other countries and the EU to increase how much they pay for drugs, to fund medical research.
- He welcomed upcoming ceasefire talks between Ukraine and Russia, and said he might join.
- The president repeated past claims that white South African farmers were being killed in a ‘genocide’.
- The offer of a $400 million Boeing jet was a “great gesture” from Qatar, Trump said, and he was never “one to turn down that kind of offer”.
Trump repeats claim of a 'genocide' against white South African farmers
16:21
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Rachel Clun
Donald Trump has repeated claims that white South African farmers are being killed.
“It's a genocide that's taking place that you people don't want to write about,” he said.
There is no evidence to back up the president’s claims.
Trump criticizes 'fake news' over Qatari jet questions
16:07
,
Rachel Clun
Asked again about the plans to accept a Boeing 747-8 worth a reported $400 million as a gift, Donald Trump hit back at the reporter.
“ABC fake news,” he said. “You should be embarrassed asking that question.”
“I could say, no, no, no, don't give us [a dift], I want to pay you a billion or 400 million, or whatever it is. Or I could say, thank you very much,” he continued.
“To me, it's a gift to the Department of Defense, and you should know better.”
He added: “Your network is a disaster. ABC is a disaster.”
Watch: Trump says US intervention stopped nuclear war between India and Pakistan
15:59
,
Rachel Clun
Trump says Qatari offer of plane a 'great gesture'
15:45
,
Rachel Clun
Donald Trump has said Qatar’s offer of a new luxury plane to replace the old Air Force One was a ‘nice gesture’, while lashing Boeing for taking so long to build a new one.
“We're very disappointed that it's taking Boeing so long to build a new Air Force One,” he said.
“[Qatar] said we would like to do something, and if we can get a 747, as a contribution to our defense department to use during a couple of years while they're building the other ones, I think that was a very nice gesture.”
Trump continued: “We have a 40-year-old aircraft, the money we spend, the maintenance we spend on those planes to keep them tippy top is astronomical, you wouldn't even believe it.
“I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer. I mean, I could be a stupid person and say, ‘No, we don't want a free, very expensive aeroplane’. But it was - I thought it was a great gesture.”
Trump raises posibility of joining Russia, Ukraine talks
15:39
,
Rachel Clun
Donald Trump says he believes Russia and Ukraine will have a “good meeting” on Thursday.
“I think you may have a good result out of the Thursday meeting in Turkey between Russia and Ukraine, and I believe the two leaders were going to be there,” he said.
“I was thinking about flying over. I don't know where I'm going to be on Thursday. I've got so many meetings that was thinking about actually flying over there. There's a possibility of it, I guess, if I think things can happen. But we got to get it done.”
RFK claims U.S. represents 75% of pharmaceutical revenue
15:35
,
Rachel Clun
Robert F. Kennedy says that while the U.S. makes up less than 5 percent of the world’s population, it pays well above its share for pharmaceuticals.
“Our country represents 75 percent of the revenues for pharmaceutical companies,” he said.
“President Trump is saying to our European partners, ‘you've got to raise the amount that you're paying for those drugs and pay for your share of the innovation that the United States is no longer subsidising’,” he continued.
“If Europeans raise their the price of their drugs by just 20 percent that is ten trillion that can be spent on innovation, and the health of all people all across the globe is going to increase because we're going to have better products.”
RFK claims Congress is 'controlled' by big pharma
15:28
,
Rachel Clun
Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy is now speaking. He’s saying Congress would not make this change, because “Congress is controlled in so many ways by the pharmaceutical industry.”
“Nobody wanted to do anything because it was radioactive,” he continued.
“They knew you couldn't get it by Congress. We now have a president who is a man of his word, who has the courage.”
Kennedy said the pharmaceutical industry also donated to Trump.
“I think they gave you $100 million but he can't be bought, unlike most politicians in this country, and he is standing here for the American people,” Kennedy said.
Big pharma can voluntarily reduce prices, or face the federal government
15:23
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Rachel Clun
Donald Trump says some drug prices will be reduced “almost immediately”.
“The principle is simple, whatever the lowest price paid for a drug in other developed countries, that is the price that Americans will pay,” he said.
“Big Pharma will either abide by this principle voluntarily or will use the power of the federal government to ensure that we are paying the same price as other countries to accelerate these price restrictions and reductions.”
The president said the administration will also cut out “the famous middlemen”.
“Nobody knows who they are, middlemen. I've been hearing the term for 25 years, middlemen. I don't know who they are, but they're rich that I can tell you,” he said.
Trump says Americans paying for medical research
15:19
,
Rachel Clun
Donald Trump said pharmaceutical companies are setting research and development costs at a particular level “for no reason whatsoever”, and those costs were being borne by Americans alone.
“This means American patients were effectively subsidising socialist healthcare systems in Germany, in all parts of the European Union - they were the toughest of all. They were nasty,” he said.
The president then swerved to attack the EU’s trade position.
“[The] European Union is in many ways nastier than China, okay? And we've just started with them. Oh, they'll come down a lot. You watch. We have all the cards. They treated us very unfairly.”
He continued: “They sell us 13 million cars. We sell them none. They sell us their agricultural products, we sell them virtually none. They don't take our products ... So they're going to have to pay more for health care, and we're going to have to pay less. That's all it is, believe it or not.”
Drug prices going down 'at a level nobody has ever seen'
15:15
,
Rachel Clun
Trump says that drug prices will plummet.
“Pharmaceutical and drugs is going down at a level that nobody has ever seen before,” he said.
He’s also mentioned the “hundreds of billions of dollars of tariff money” that he claims is coming in.
“It will pay for the Golden Dome. I see the golden dome is there. See that will easily pay for the Golden Dome. And we have a lot of money left over,” he said.
'We'll slash the cost of prescription drugs': Trump
15:12
,
Rachel Clun
The president says his administration will slash drug prices.
“For the first time in many years, we'll slash the cost of prescription drugs, and we will bring fairness to America. Drug prices will come down by much more,” Donald Trump said.
He added drugs would come down by “between 59 and 80 and, I guess even 90 percent”.
“We're getting them down 60, 70, 80, 90 percent, but actually more than that.”
Trump says the issue is countries, not pharmaceutical companies
15:10
,
Rachel Clun
Donald Trump has hit out at countries, and the European Union in particular, for the disparity in drug prices.
“It was really the countries that forced Big Pharma to do things that, frankly, I'm not sure they really felt comfortable doing, but they've gotten away with it,” he said.
“These countries, the European Union has been brutal, brutal, and the drug companies actually told me stories, it was just brutal, how they forced them.”
U.S. won't tolerate 'profiteering and price gouging from big pharma'
15:08
,
Rachel Clun
Donald Trump has now turned to drug prices.
“I'm not knocking the drug companies. I'm really more knocking the countries than the drug companies, because they're forced to do things, but the drug lobby is the strongest lobby in this country. They said the drug lobby, it's between that and lawyers, and they have a lot of power,” he said.
“But starting today, the United States will no longer subsidise the health care of foreign countries, which is what we were doing.
“We were subsidising others' health care in countries where they paid a small fraction of what for the same drug, what we pay many, many times more for and we'll no longer tolerate profiteering and price gouging from big pharma.”
Trump says US intervention "stopped the nuclear conflict" between India and Pakistan
15:05
,
Rachel Clun
Coming back to his comments on the India and Pakistan ceasefire, Donald Trump said pressure from America on trade has helped avoid a nuclear war.
"We stopped the nuclear conflict. I think it would have it could have been a bad nuclear war, millions of people could have been killed. So I'm very proud of that,” he said.
'Great news' that Edan Alexander coming home, Trump says
15:02
,
Rachel Clun
The president says the parents of Edan Alexander, the last living American captive held by Hamas, are happy he is finally being released.
“They're going to be releasing Edan in about two hours from now, or sometime today,” Donald Trump said.
“They thought he was dead just a short while ago, his parents are so happy.”
Trump says U.S. not looking to hurt China
14:58
,
Rachel Clun
The U.S. President said the talks in Geneva over the weekend between Washington and Beijing were ‘very friendly’.
“The relationship is very good. We're not looking to hurt China. China was being hurt very badly. They were closing up factories. They were having a lot of unrest, and they were very happy to be able to do something with us,” Donald Trump claimed.
“And the relationship is very, very good. I'll speak to President Xi maybe at the end of the week.”
President says China deal does not include cars, steel, aluminum
14:56
,
Rachel Clun
Donald Trump said both China and the U.S. have agreed to lower tariffs - but not on everything.
“It doesn't include tariffs on cars, steel, aluminium, things such as that, or tariffs that may be imposed on pharmaceuticals, because we want to bring the pharmaceutical businesses back to the United States,” he said.
Trump welcomes ceasefire with India and Pakistan
14:53
,
Rachel Clun
Donald Trump has welcomed the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, saying the U.S. helped broker that deal.
“On Saturday, my administration helped broker a full and immediate ceasefire, I think a permanent one, between India and Pakistan ending a dangerous conflict of two nations with lots of nuclear weapons, and they were going at it hot and heavy, and it was seemingly not going to stop,” he said.
“We helped a lot, and we helped also with trade. I said, ‘Come on, we're going to do a lot of trade with you guys. Let's stop it. Let's stop it. If you stop it, we're doing trade’.”
He continued: “People have never really used trade the way I used it, that I can tell you. And all of a sudden they said, I think we're going to stop and they have, and then they did it for a lot of reasons, but trade is a big one.”
US markets open sharply in the green
14:51
,
Karl Matchett
Business and Money editor Karl Matchett writes:
As expected, the major US markets have opened sharply in the green, with the S&P 500 index up 2.5pc and the tech-focused Nasdaq showing a more than 3.2pc rise through the first minutes of trading.
There are some fairly hefty rises for big names: Tesla up five per cent, Nike 6.5 per cent, Amazon up to seven per cent.
But already there's an element of quick profit-taking on show too, perhaps: Shopify was up by double-figure percentage points briefly, touching $104 per share before dropping back to just shy of $100 now.
Still, the big gains on show will be appreciated by investors after a difficult-to-navigate month or two.
Watch live: Trump makes prescription drug annonucement
14:33
,
Rachel Clun
Trump heralds upcoming prescription drug cost cuts
14:25
,
Rachel Clun
Donald Trump will shortly unveil his planned cuts to the cost of prescription medicines for Americans.
Ahead of that, he’s the full story of his announcement and why not everyone agrees with it:
Trump claims credit for new American Pope Leo’s election - despite having nothing to do with Conclave
14:12
,
Alex Croft
Donald Trump has suggested he played a role in Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV’s election as the new pontiff.
That’s despite the U.S. president having nothing to do with the traditional Conclave process that selects a new pope.
The president’s comments came hours before the new Pope gave his first press conference Monday morning, calling for an end to “loud, forceful communication”.
Read the full story on that below:
White House 'absolutely not' worried about what Qatar might want in return for luxury plane
13:57
,
Rachel Clun
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said the Trump administration was “absolutely not” worried about whether Qatar might want something in return for a slated luxury plane gift.
News broke on Sunday that Donald Trump intended to accept a gift of a Boeing 747-8 airplane from the Qatari royal family, which would be used to replace the current Air Force One.
Leavitt said the administration would act according to the law on the potential gift.
"The Qatari government has graciously offered to donate a plane to the Department of Defense. The legal details of that are still being worked out," Leavitt said in an interview on Fox News on Monday.
"Any donation to this government is always done in full compliance with the law, and we commit ourselves to the utmost transparency, and we will continue to do that.”
Asked if the White House was worried the Qatar might want something in return, Leavitt said: "Absolutely not. Because they know President Trump, and they know he only works with the interests of the American public in mind."
Trump prepares to cut prescription prices
13:42
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Rachel Clun, Reuters
Donald Trump is preparing to cut prescription drug prices in a White House event in the next hour.
Earlier he said prescription drug costs will be slashed by 59 percent, following comments he made on the weekend that he would sign an executive order to cut prescription prices by 30-80 percent.
The president is scheduled to hold an event at the White House with health secretary Robert F. Kennedy at 9.30am (2.30pm British time), Reuters reports.
Most countries directly negotiate the prices of medicines with drug companies, but the U.S. only has limited negotiations and instead has relied on private pharmacy benefit managers to negotiate prices in insurance plans.
Bessent says China tariff deal is ‘just a pause’
13:27
,
Rachel Clun
Scott Bessent says the agreement reached on the weekend was “just a pause” on high tariffs.
“The April 2nd tariff level for China was 34 percent, so we have moved that down from 34 to 10, we still have the 20 percent fentanyl tariff that we put on in February,” he told CNBC.
“One of the most important things that we’re doing, we do not want a generalized decoupling from China, but what we do want is a decoupling for strategic necessities which we were unable to obtain during Covid.”
He continued: “And we realised that efficient supply chains were not resilient supply chains, so we are going to… protect our steel industry, work on critical medicines, semiconductors.”
Further U.S talks with China likely in coming weeks, Bessent says
13:10
,
Rachel Clun
Treasury secretary Scott Bessent says he expects to meet again with Chinese counterparts to continue trade negotiations.
Speaking to CNBC shortly after revealing that Washington and Beijing had agreed to reduce tariffs by 115 percent for 90 days, Bessent said work will continue shortly on coming to “a more fulsome agreement”.
Watch: Treasury secretary announced 90-day pause on high tariffs with China
12:55
,
Rachel Clun
Bernie Sanders says Trump cannot accept ‘$400 million flying palace’
12:40
,
Rachel Clun
News of the slated gift of a Boeing jet to replace the ageing Air Force One plane has drawn criticism from all sides of politics.
Independent Senator Bernie Sanders said Congress could not allow the “over-the-top kleptocracy to proceed”.
“I don't know who needs to hear this, but NO, Donald Trump cannot accept a $400 million flying palace from the royal family of Qatar,” he wrote on X.
“Not only is this farcically corrupt, it is blatantly unconstitutional.”
Debate around gift Boeing comes ahead of Middle East trip
12:25
,
Rachel Clun
News of the potential gift airplane comes ahead of Donald Trump’s first official overseas visit, barring the funeral of Pope Francis.
The president will travel this week for visits to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. The focus will be on “economic agreements.”
The plane - which would be one of the most valuable gifts given to the U.S. by a foreign country - will not be presented to Trump or accepted by the U.S. while he is in Qatar, Reuters reports.
The Trump Organization, run by the president’s two eldest sons, has growing interests in the Middle East. An ethics agreement released by the company in January forbids deals with foreign governments but allows those with private companies.
Far-right Maga ally to Trump condemns plan to accept $400m jet gift a 'stain' on the administration
12:04
,
Rachel Clun
A far-right Maga ally of Donald Trump who claims she would “take a bullet” for the president has condemned his plans to accept a gift from the Qatari royals as a “stain” on the administration.
Ahead of the president’s visit to the Middle East this week, ABC reported that Qatar was planning to gift a $400 million Boeing jet to Trump to replace the current aging Air Force One jet.
The Qatari government said a deal was yet to be finalised, but Trump defended the gift on Truth Social on the weekend.
However, Laura Loomer said the U.S. could not accept such a gift.
“The Qataris fund the same Iranian proxies in Hamas and Hezbollah who have murdered US Service Members. The same proxies that have worked with the Mexican cartels to get jihadists across our border,” she wrote on X.
“This is really going to be such a stain on the admin if this is true.”
Analysis: Trump craves recognition as the peacemaker president
11:56
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Oliver O'Connell
President Donald Trump, hailing a successful U.S.-mediated ceasefire between India and Pakistan on Saturday, brought flashbacks to his inauguration day address and desire to be seen as a “peacemaker.”
In his January 20 address, he said: “My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier. That’s what I want to be, a peacemaker and a unifier.”
On the surface, an admirable mission statement, but underneath lies a personal motive and related gripe. President Trump has made no secret that one thing he really desires is a Nobel Peace Prize.
Read US Reporter Oliver O’Connell’s analysis of whether Trump is likely to achieve that wish below:
Trump says drug prices will be cut by 59 percent
11:42
,
Rachel Clun
The President says there is “no inflation” as he prepares to sign an executive order to cut the price of prescription medication.
Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social: “DRUG PRICES TO BE CUT BY 59%, PLUS! Gasoline, Energy, Groceries, and all other costs, DOWN. NO INFLATION!!! LOVE, DJT”
Inflation in the U.S. was 2.4 percent in the year to March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but fell 0.1 percent over the month.
Gas prices fell 6.4 percent, while food inflation rose by 0.4 percent over the month.
Inflation figures for April will be published on Tuesday.
'GREAT NEWS': Trump welcomes Hamas plan to release U.S. captive
11:29
,
Rachel Clun
Donald Trump has welcomed the news that Hamas will release the last living American captive, Edan Alexander.
“EDAN ALEXANDER, AMERICAN HOSTAGE THOUGHT DEAD, TO BE RELEASED BY HAMAS. GREAT NEWS!” he wrote on social media on Monday morning.
White House envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to visit Israel on Monday ahead of Alexander’s release.
Witkoff spoke to Alexander’s parents and told them about Hamas’ release plans, Axios reports.
A source familiar with the deal told The Independent it was a “good will” gesture after direct talks between the militant group and the U.S.
Read the full report on Alexander’s expected release below:
Shipping giant welcomes China-U.S. deal
11:20
,
Rachel Clun, Reuters
Danish shipping giant Maersk has welcomed the 90-day pause on high tariffs between China and the U.S. as a step in the right direction.
"We hope it can lay the foundation for the parties to also reach a permanent deal that can create the long-term predictability our customers need," the company said in an emailed statement.
"Right now, our customers have gotten 90 days of clarity with reduced tariffs, and we are working hard to help them make the best use of this window," it added.
President defends slated gift of Boeing jet
11:04
,
Rachel Clun
Donald Trump has defended reports that the Qatari royal family will gift a $400 million Boeing jet to the president to use as the new Air Force One.
“So the fact that the Defense Department is getting a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE, of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40 year old Air Force One, temporarily, in a very public and transparent transaction, so bothers the Crooked Democrats that they insist we pay, TOP DOLLAR, for the plane,” Trump wrote on social media.
“Anybody can do that! The Dems are World Class Losers!!!”
Qatari officials said the deal was yet to be finalised, and was still under consideration by the defense departments of both countries.
“No decision has been made,” Ali Al-Ansari, Qatar’s Media Attaché to the US, told Politico.
Trump promises sweeping cuts to prescription drug prices
10:49
,
Rachel Clun
Donald Trump is preparing to sign an executive order today which he claims will reduced the cost of prescription medicines by up to 80 percent “almost immediately”.
Trump said in social media post that it was “very embarrassing” that Americans were paying much more for prescription drugs than “in any other nation”.
“I will be signing one of the most consequential Executive Orders in our Country’s history. Prescription Drug and Pharmaceutical prices will be REDUCED, almost immediately, by 30% to 80%,” he wrote on TruthSocial on Sunday.
The president said he would be instituting a “most favored nation’s policy” in which the U.S. would pay the same as the country that pays the lowest price anywhere around the world.
Americans do tend to pay more for prescriptions than people in other wealthy nations, ProPublica reports.
Drug companies face few restraints on what they charge for their products in the U.S, whereas other countries tend to set prices for treatments based on their benefits and the prices other nations charge.
Markets buoyed by 'significant' deal
10:34
,
Rachel Clun
Financial markets have been buoyed by the news of the cuts in tariffs between the U.S. and China.
The tariff dispute brought nearly $600 billion in two-way trade to a standstill, disrupting supply chains, sparking fears of stagflation and triggering some layoffs.
Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management in Hong Kong said the deal was “better than I expected”.
"Obviously, this is very positive news for economies in both countries and for the global economy, and makes investors much less concerned about the damage to global supply chains in the short term," Zhang said.
Before the deal was detailed, Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets for Hargreaves Lansdown, said hopes were high for a “significant deal”.
"With more details about the outcome expected later, there's optimism around that the spat between the world's two largest economies won't inflict as much damage globally as had been feared,” she said.
U.S. and China release joint statement on tariff deal
10:19
,
Rachel Clun
Following the weekend of negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland, the U.S. and China have released a joint statement outlining the new agreement to slash tariffs.
Beyond agreeing to reduce tariffs by 115 percent for 90 days, both sides agreed to “establish a mechanism to continue discussions about economic and trade relations”.
Those discussions will continue between China’s vice premier He Lifeng and U.S representatives Scott Bessent and Jamieson Greer, and will be conducted in China, the United States, or a third coun
