Donald Trump claims he pressured Emmanuel Macron over drug pricing
Credit : Frederic Legrand – COMEO, Shutterstock
Donald Trump likes to tell stories when he’s on stage – especially when they show him as the tough negotiator in the room. On Friday December 19 in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, he offered his supporters another such tale, this time involving French President Emmanuel Macron and a supposed showdown over the price of medicines.
Speaking at a rally where he was defending his economic record, Trump claimed he once threatened France with heavy tariffs to force an increase in drug prices – a move he says was necessary to bring prices down for Americans. In Paris, the reaction was swift and sceptical. The Élysée dismissed the story, saying it simply “doesn’t make sense”.
A story told to prove a point
Trump was in campaign mode, keen to portray his first year back in office as “the most successful” of any US president. A large part of that success, he told the crowd, came from what he described as a “massive reduction” in the price of prescription drugs in the United States.
To illustrate how he achieved it, Trump launched into an anecdote about a supposed phone call with Macron. According to Trump, he told the French president that France would need to double or even triple the price of certain medicines.
When Macron allegedly refused, Trump claims he escalated quickly. “Oh yes, you will,” he said he replied, before threatening to impose 25 per cent tariffs on everything France sells to the United States.
Trump told the audience there was then “dead silence” on the line. Moments later, he said, Macron agreed. “Deal,” Trump claimed the French leader responded.
The story was met with applause in the room, fitting neatly into Trump’s long-standing argument that foreign countries have been benefiting from low drug prices while Americans pay far more.
France says the story ‘makes no sense’
In Paris, officials wasted little time pushing back. A source at the Élysée Palace said the account “has no basis in reality”, pointing out a key detail Trump’s story overlooks: the French president does not set drug prices.
In France, the cost of prescription medicines is negotiated between the state and pharmaceutical companies, under a tightly regulated system designed to keep prices affordable. Those prices, officials added, have remained largely stable in recent months — something anyone visiting a pharmacy could easily see for themselves.
The disagreement touches on a real issue, however. According to research by the Rand Corporation, prescription drugs cost around 2.5 times more in the US than in countries such as France. Trump has repeatedly argued that this gap amounts to Americans subsidising cheaper healthcare abroad.
Trump’s wider strategy on drug prices
Trump has been vocal about his plan to change that balance. Earlier this year, he announced a policy tying US drug prices to the lowest prices paid anywhere in the world. On Friday, he described it as “the most important medical development since the founding of our country”.
He promised that Americans would begin seeing “dramatic” price cuts from January, adding that the policy alone should be enough to secure Republican victories in the 2026 midterm elections.
Just hours before his North Carolina speech, the US administration confirmed that nine major pharmaceutical companies, including French group Sanofi, had reached agreements to lower the price of certain medicines in exchange for exemptions from new tariffs. Trump said similar deals had already been signed with Pfizer and AstraZeneca, with more expected soon.
In Trump’s telling, pharmaceutical firms eventually came around. “The big problem,” he said, “was foreign countries.”
A message aimed squarely at voters
The setting for Trump’s remarks was no accident. North Carolina, currently controlled by Republicans, is considered a key battleground ahead of the midterms. Recent polls suggest many voters remain unconvinced that promised price cuts will actually reach their pockets.
Trump also used the rally to dismiss warnings that tariffs would fuel inflation. “They said tariffs would cause inflation,” he told supporters. “We’ve just had the best inflation numbers in years.”
Whether the Macron phone call happened as Trump described it remains doubtful. What is clear, however, is the message he wanted voters to hear: he took on foreign governments and Big Pharma – and won.
In France, officials appear far less impressed. As one source put it, medicine prices aren’t set during dramatic phone calls – no matter how confidently the story is told.
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