鈥淲e鈥檙e losing 300,000 people a year to fentanyl that comes through our border. We had it down to the lowest number and now it鈥檚 worse than it鈥檚 ever been.鈥
鈥 Former President Donald Trump at a July 24 campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina
Former President Donald Trump claimed at a recent campaign rally that more than 300,000 Americans are dying each year from the synthetic opioid drug fentanyl, and that the number of fentanyl overdoses was the 鈥渓owest鈥 during his administration and has skyrocketed since.
鈥淲e鈥檙e losing 300,000 people a year to fentanyl that comes through our border,鈥 Trump told his supporters at a July 24 campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina. 鈥淲e had it down to the lowest number and now it鈥檚 worse than it鈥檚 ever been,鈥 he said.
Trump鈥檚 figures appear to have no basis in fact. Government statistics show the per year is hovering around 100,000 to 110,000, with opioid-related deaths at about 81,000. That鈥檚 enough that the government opioid-related overdoses an 鈥渆pidemic,鈥 but nowhere close to the number Trump cited.
Moreover, though the number of opioid deaths has risen since Trump left office, it鈥檚 incorrect to claim they were the 鈥渓owest鈥 while he was president.
Numbers Are High, but Nowhere Near Trump鈥檚 Claim
Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt wouldn鈥檛 comment specifically on the source for Trump鈥檚 statistics. She instead sent 麻豆女优 Health News an about the opioid crisis under the heading: 鈥淒RUGS ARE POURING OVER HARRIS鈥 OPEN BORDER INTO OUR COMMUNITIES.鈥
One such bullet noted that there were 鈥112,000 fatal drug overdoses鈥 last year and linked to a story reporting that fact 鈥 directly rebutting Trump鈥檚 own claim of 300,000 fentanyl deaths. Additionally, the number NPR reported is an overall figure, not for fentanyl-related deaths only.
estimated that there were 107,543 total drug overdose deaths in 2023, with an estimated 74,702 of those involving fentanyl. Those figures were in line with what experts on the topic told 麻豆女优 Health News.
鈥淭he number of actual deaths is probably significantly higher,鈥 said Andrew Kolodny, medical director for the Opioid Policy Research Collaborative at Brandeis University, noting that many such overdose deaths go uncounted by government researchers.
鈥淏ut I don’t know where one would get that number of 300,000,鈥 Kolodny added.
Trump鈥檚 claim that fentanyl deaths were the 鈥渓owest鈥 during his administration and are now worse than ever is also off the mark.
Overdose deaths 鈥 specifically those from synthetic opioids such as fentanyl 鈥 started climbing steadily in the 1990s. When Trump took office in January 2017, the number of overdose deaths related to synthetic opioids was about 21,000. By January 2021, when he left the White House, that tally was nearing 60,000, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention鈥檚 shows. Deaths involving synthetic opioids continued to increase after Trump left office.
鈥淭here’s some truth to saying that there are more Americans dying [of opioids] than ever before,鈥 Kolodny said. 鈥淏ut again, if you were to look at trends during the Trump administration, deaths just pretty much kept getting worse.鈥
In the last year, though, statistics show that overdose numbers have plateaued or fallen slightly, though it鈥檚 too soon to say whether that trend will hold.
Given that Trump鈥檚 claims about fentanyl came when discussing the southern border 鈥渋nvasion,鈥 it鈥檚 worth noting that, , the vast majority of fentanyl caught being smuggled into the country illegally comes via legal ports of entry. Moreover, of people convicted of fentanyl drug trafficking in 2022 were U.S. citizens, an analysis by the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, showed. That year, U.S. citizens received 12 times as many fentanyl trafficking convictions as did immigrants who were in the U.S. without authorization, the analysis showed.
Our Ruling
Trump said, “We鈥檙e losing 300,000 people a year to fentanyl that comes through our border. We had it down to the lowest number and now it鈥檚 worse than it鈥檚 ever been.”
Annual U.S. fentanyl deaths have increased since he left office, but Trump鈥檚 claim about 300,000 deaths has no basis in fact and is contradicted by figures his press secretary shared.
Trump is wrong to assert that overdoses were the lowest when he was president. Moreover, Trump continues to link fentanyl trafficking to illegal immigration 鈥 a claim statistics do not support.
We rate Trump鈥檚 claim Pants on Fire!
Our Sources
Cato Institute, “,” Aug. 23, 2023.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “,” May 15, 2024.
C-SPAN, , July 24, 2024.
Department of Homeland Security, , Dec. 22, 2023.
Email exchange with Karoline Leavitt, national press secretary for Donald J. Trump for President, July 29, 2024.
National Vital Statistics System, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, , July 7, 2024.
NPR, “,” Dec. 28, 2023.
Phone interview with Andrew Kolodny, medical director for the Opioid Policy Research Collaborative at Brandeis University, July 31, 2024.
