Trump, 79, Says 300-M Americans Have Died from Drugs

US President Donald Trump has inflated the figure he wrongly claims were killed by drugs in the US — from massively inaccurate to impossibly so.

For Trump’s claim to be accurate, nearly 90% of the current US population of about 340 million would have had to die from overdoses last year.

He defended targeting an alleged Venezuelan drug boat by claiming that nearly the entire US population died from overdoses last year, Ewan Palmer reported for The Daily Beast.

Reporters asked the 79-year-old Trump to respond to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s accusation that the US killing of 11 suspected drug smugglers in the Caribbean Sea was “illegal,” and whether he was concerned Venezuela might retaliate.

“What’s illegal are the drugs that were on the boat, and the drugs that are being sent into our country, and the fact that 300 million people died last year from drugs, that’s what’s illegal,” Trump said.

For Trump’s claim to be accurate, nearly 90% of the current US population of about 340 million would have had to die from overdoses last year.

Official figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show his estimate was off by about 299,925,000.

In the 12 months ending March 2025, there were nearly 75,000 drug overdose deaths in the US.

Even if giving Trump the benefit of the doubt by suggesting he meant worldwide deaths, his 300 million figure is still far off. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported in June 2024 that drug use accounted for about 600,000 deaths globally.

The White House defended Trump by suggesting he meant all those “affected” by drugs, despite his specific reference to deaths.

Ben Meiselas, co-founder of the liberal news outlet MeidasTouch, quipped while sharing a clip of the comments: “He’s wrong. It’s a billion gazillion people.” California congressional hopeful Eric Garcia posted on X: “Almost the entire U.S. population died from drugs last year!!!! Someone who loves this man needs to get him the help he needs.”

Earlier, Trump boasted that he was responsible for slashing prescription drug prices by a mathematically impossible 1,400%.