“One year ago, we pledged to cut nationwide opioid prescriptions by one-third. Already during my time in office, we have reduced the total amount of opioid prescribed by 34 percent. That’s a pretty amazing number.”
— President Trump, speaking at a drug abuse summit in Atlanta, April 24, 2019
During a recent speech on the administration’s efforts to ease the opioid crisis, President Trump asserted that his administration had already achieved its goal of cutting nationwide opioid prescriptions by one-third.
Trump’s original goal, made on March 19, 2018, was to reach this target within three years. So obviously we were curious about whether the claim about already reaching the milestone within a year was valid.
Here’s what we found out. It’s an interesting tale of how data generated in the administration loses its nuance the closer it gets to the president’s lips.
The Pinocchio Test
