Fox News anchor and host John Roberts hit back at the Biden campaign with receipts in a dust-up over claims regarding a cap on insulin prices.
The Biden camp has spent three years attempting to take credit for placing a cap on insulin, the Daily Caller noted, but on Monday, Roberts, during an “American Newsroom” segment, said that “kind of already happened” under then-President Donald Trump. Roberts stated that Trump signed an executive order in May 2020 capping the price of insulin for Medicare recipients.
The following day, the Biden-Harris Campaign wrote on the X platform that Roberts’ claim was “a blatant lie” along with a clip of him making the statement. “FACT CHECK: This is a blatant lie. Trump did not cap insulin costs. President Biden did for seniors through the Inflation Reduction Act. Trump’s Project 2025 wants to repeal it, which would raise insulin costs for over a million Americans,” the Biden campaign wrote.
Fox host tries to claim Trump, not President Biden, capped insulin at $35/month
FACT CHECK: This is a blatant lie. Trump did not cap insulin costs, President Biden did for seniors through the Inflation Reduction Act. Trump’s Project 2025 wants to repeal it, which would raise… pic.twitter.com/iDrrBKEIhf
— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) June 3, 2024
Roberts responded on-air Tuesday, directly addressing the Biden campaign’s social media post with “receipts to dispute the Biden campaign’s claim about what [he] said.” The Fox News anchor read aloud a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services press release from May 26, 2020, that contradicted the Democratic president’s campaign.
“Today, under President Trump’s leadership, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that over 1,750 standalone Medicare Part D prescription drug plans and Medicare Advantage plans with prescription drug coverage have applied to offer lower insulin costs through the Part D Senior Savings Model for the 2021 plan year. Across the nation, participating enhanced Part D prescription drug plans will provide Medicare beneficiaries access to a broad set of insulins at a maximum $35 copay for a month’s supply, from the beginning of the year through the Part D coverage gap. The model follows on the Trump Administration’s previously announced 13.5 percent decline in the average monthly basic Part D premium since 2017 to the lowest level in seven year,” the statement said.
Roberts also showed a video of Tracy Brown, the CEO of the American Diabetes Association, delivering remarks that praised Trump’s executive action. The video was filmed in the White House Rose Garden on the same day. Roberts also pointed out that several CEOs from the drug companies involved were present at the ceremony.
Biden paused Trump’s executive action meant to lower the price of insulin on his second day in office, a move Roberts did not mention. In March 2021, the Trump-era order was allowed to take effect, and the Biden administration has since spent three years taking credit for this.
