Politifact on Bondi's claim that fentanyl seizures saved "119 million" to "258 million" lives.

[sl8]

They give it a "Pants on Fire" rating.

Pam Bondi stated on April 29, 2025 in an X post:

In President Donald Trump’s first 100 days, fentanyl seizures saved “119 million” to “258 million” lives.

By Maria Ramirez Uribe
May 1, 2025

Trump-era fentanyl seizures have not saved up to 258 million lives, as Pam Bondi said. Here's why.

If Your Time is short

-- Drug experts say U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s statement ignores critical facts about fentanyl and drug seizures.

- Not everyone is at risk of dying from a fentanyl overdose, experts say. To die from a fentanyl overdose, a person must consume fentanyl or an illicit drug laced with it. About 11% of people age 12 and older in the U.S. use illegal drugs.

- Fentanyl seizures show only how much fentanyl didn’t make it into the U.S. It’s unclear how much fentanyl entered the U.S. that could lead to overdose deaths.

[...]

[BoRaGard]

1. She's definitely a republicon

Wonder why she & GOP chose to abandon the teachings of Christ and to violate the Ten Commandments?

[Irish_Dem]

2. Trump's cabinet are just actors in the Trump's crime syndicate reality TV show.

Everything is just a scripted performative stunt. Lies, manipulation, deceit.

Trump is just running an ongoing reality TV show.
With no connection to reality.

[eppur_se_muova]

3. Not to mention she keeps calling it "fentanol". Read the freaking spelling !

To be even-handed, some of our journos do too.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

4. Maddow Blog-On fentanyl seizures, AG Bondi credits Trump with saving three-quarters of U.S. population

The attorney general claimed recent fentanyl seizures will save “258 million lives.” That's ... not quite right.
https://bsky.app/profile/hategop.bsky.social/post/3lo55aacmkn2d

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/fentanyl-seizures-ag-bondi-credits-trump-saving-three-quarters-us-popu-rcna204091

Take Attorney General Pam Bondi, for example.

The Republican AG appeared on Fox News this week, and marked Fentanyl Awareness Day with a curious claim. “In President Trump’s first 100 days, we’ve seized over 22 million fentanyl laced pills, saving over 119 million lives,” Bondi said.

According to the Census Bureau, the current population of the United States is over 341 million people. According to the attorney general, fentanyl laced pills were poised to kill roughly one in three Americans — which seemed difficult to believe.

A day later, Bondi attended a White House Cabinet meeting, where she gushed for quite a while about how awesome Donald Trump’s awesomeness is, before turning her attention to fentanyl seizures.
https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc/post/3lo27p7wrls2d

Link to tweet

After prefacing her comments by asking whether journalists were “ready” for her big announcement, Bondi credited Trump with saving “258 million lives” — or roughly three-quarters of the population of the United States......

So, a few things.

First, the Trump administration really should stop coming up with weird mathematical formulas. Readers who were baffled by what the DOJ told the Daily Beast can take comfort in the fact that they're not alone, though it's about as strange as the White House's tariffs formula.

Second, the first hint that this formula was flawed should’ve been obvious to Bondi and her team given that fentanyl-laced pills, though extremely dangerous, were never going to wipe out 78% of the American population.

Finally, let’s also not overlook a recent report from Reuters, which noted that under the Biden administration, there was a sharp decline in overdose deaths from fentanyl, but those directly involved in the anti-narcotics fight are concerned about a reversal due to “federal spending cuts instigated by” the Trump White House.