As a reporter, I often experienced how headlines could shape readers’s impressions of an article I wrote. I once got a call from a congressional aide saying that a dozen House members had changed their votes after my article — with an inaccurate headline — appeared on the front page of The Washington Post. Another time, the State Department spokesman denied the story because of the headline — even though the text of the article was completely accurate.
After that, I became notorious for sneaking into the Post system after 10 p.m., checking the headline crafted by the copy desk and then offering (more accurate) suggestions that would fit the allotted space. (This was in the heyday of the print edition. On the web, space restrictions are much looser.)
There’s really no excuse for assuming a headline accurately reflects the article, especially since the text likely will have nuances not easily captured in a few words. It’s pretty shameless to circulate a headline without looking at the article itself.
But of course, the Trump White House is shameless — and maybe officials don’t bother to read the full story.
Last week, The Post published an article with this headline: “Prescription drug prices record sharpest drop in more than 60 years.”
Donald Trump took office only a year and a half ago, and anyone with a basic knowledge of economics knows that policy changes take time to work their way through the economy. But that didn’t stop Trump and his minions from touting the drop in prescription drug prices.
Trump approached reporters on Aug. 14 with the article in hand and waved it around. “The headline today is exactly that,” he said. “You see it? It says, ‘Prescription drug prices record sharpest drop in more than 60 years.’ Okay? Got it? Everybody have it? And I told you that was going to happen.”
The White House also touted the price drop on social media.
But rather than crediting Trump, the article said actions taken under Joe Biden were more likely responsible for the price decrease. For instance, right in the third paragraph: “Some experts said a Biden-era policy that requires Medicare to negotiate prices for some popular prescription drugs is more likely to be driving down costs.”
The article noted that the White House cited Trump’s efforts to reduce the cost of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs.
“But bigger trends in the GLP-1 marketplace were already driving down prices independent of Trump’s negotiations, according to experts on drug pricing,” the Post said. “Spotty insurance coverage for Wegovy and Zepbound for weight loss has produced enormous demand for lower consumer prices. And cheaper compounded drugs have posed genuine competition for the brand-name companies, adding even greater downward pressure.”
The article quoted Richard Frank, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, as doubting that Trump’s initiatives were behind the drop in drug prices. “If I was a betting guy on what mattered most, it would be probably stuff around the Inflation Reduction Act,” Frank said, adding that Trump’s efforts “wouldn’t be where I’d place my money.”
The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, of course, was one of Biden’s key legislative achievements. It required Medicare to begin negotiating drug prices with manufacturers for costly prescription drugs. When did the first price reductions take effect? This year, with an estimated $6 billion in savings.
Stacie Dusetzina, a health policy professor at Vanderbilt University, also told The Post that the Inflation Reduction Act is a more plausible contributor to the decline in prices than Trump’s initiatives.
For the Trump White House, history appears to begin on Jan. 20, 2025. The headline was useful to Trump. The article underneath it was not.
Unfortunately, it’s even less likely that Trump’s supporters are reading the articles. Credulousness is what got Trump elected.