Trump Says He Doesn’t Want Campaign Donations From Pharma

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump spurned campaign contributions from the pharmaceutical industry on Wednesday, calling the industry out for its role in a national opioid addiction epidemic.

“I don’t want their money,” Trump said at an event on drug addiction in Atlanta. “They have got to do what is right.”

The industry hasn’t been a big donor to Trump, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics. In 2016, he got just $386,862 from donors working for pharmaceutical firms. Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton received $2.7 million from them. The industry doesn’t rank among the top 20 sources of money for Trump’s re-election campaign, which has gotten the bulk of its support from small-dollar donors giving in amounts of $200 or less.

Trump’s administration has stepped up scrutiny of pharmaceutical companies as part of an initiative to combat addiction to prescription painkillers. Federal prosecutors on Tuesday charged opioid distributor Rochester Drug Cooperative and its former chief executive with felonies -- the first case of its kind related to the opioid crisis.

“We are holding big pharma accountable,” Trump said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Justin Sink in Washington at jsink1@bloomberg.net;Bill Allison in Washington at ballison14@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Joshua Gallu, Justin Blum

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