Trump claims 300M drug deaths despite 340M US population

Tehran - BORNA - President Donald Trump is causing more speculation about his health and cognitive ability after he claimed on Sunday that 300 million people died last year from drugs, despite the United States population only being 340 million, according to the 2020 U.S. Census.

Trump made the clearly incorrect claim after being asked by a reporter if the recent military strike against a Venezuelan boat, the administration claims was carrying drugs to the US, was illegal and would escalate tensions with the country.

"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. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 80,400 people died from drug overdoses last year, down about 27% from 2023, when 110,000 people died.

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