President Donald Trump’s launch of the online drugstore TrumpRx.gov was a dramatic promotional affair.
His White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt hyped it online and in the briefing room as a must-see event.
They held the lavish primetime announcement, when more eyes could be on the unveiling of what they suggested for months would be an absolute game-changer.
After all, the Trump administration is struggling to get ahead of Americans’ growing frustration with the rising cost of living, which has left millions of Americans frustrated and weighing other options in the 2026 midterms.
Even critics acknowledged that tackling drug prices is a noble cause. Americans across the country are desperate for lower prescription prices.
A Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) poll released last week found that healthcare costs are the top household expense people are worried about.
As some experts noted, listing drug prices on a government website could be a step towards lower costs. But the rollout of TrumpRx.gov is already facing intense criticism.
The Trump-branded website was launched to help connect patients to lower prescription drug prices, but it does not actually sell products.
Instead, it promotes available discounts and directs customers to pharmaceutical companies where they can receive the coupons and make purchases.
Social media users quickly tore into the website launching with just 43 prescription drugs listed, which are largely name brands rather than cheaper generics. Some of the most prominently featured options on the new website include weight-loss and fertility drugs.
The administration claimed it was just the beginning, but observers were quick to point out the limited options available compared to other websites that track prescription drug prices and where to get deals.
GoodRx tracks and provides coupons for thousands of prescription drugs. Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drug company, focused on generic brands, started with 200 options but can now fill prescriptions for more than 2,500 drugs.
While there appeared to be some dramatic discounts on TrumpRx when it came to fertility drugs, social media users quickly pointed out the government website’s limitations despite its dramatic unveiling.
“Basically GoodRx with his name on it?” one person questioned on X.
Others took screenshots to compare the prices on the two websites and accused TrumpRx of basically being a Trump-branded copy-and-paste of a coupon website already available but without generics.
While the president’s new flashy website prominently featured what it claimed were discounts for each brand listed, it was also pointed out that there were cheaper options out there.
Trump’s website touted 50 percent off Cortef, which is used to treat inflammation, but the generic version would ultimately cost less.
It also listed Protonix, used for heartburn and to prevent ulcers, at 55 percent off, starting at $200. The generic brand can cost less than $25 out of pocket.
“With TrumpRx, you can now pay $200/month for medicine instead of $140/year,” one person wrote.
Tikosyn is also featured at 50 percent off, or $336, while the generic brand elsewhere is just $58 for the same number of capsules.
Others pointed out that some medications could have easily had prices cut or coupons released without the Trump website.
The weight-loss pill Wegovy was listed at $149 a month. However, read the fine print and a customer would find that the offer is only available until April when buyers would have to start paying $199 a month. That’s the price found at GoodRx.
The eczema-treating ointment Eucrisa is listed at an 80 percent discount, reducing the price to $158, resulting in hundreds of dollars in savings. The same prices is listed on GoodRx.
The nonprofit consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen was quick to offer its own blistering take on TrumpRx: “Most people without insurance won’t be able to afford these prices. Meanwhile, Big Pharma gets free promotion & to keep prices high. Like most things Trump slaps his name on, it’s a corporate giveaway that’s likely to fail.”
Other consumer advocacy and healthcare experts also noted its shortcomings in addressing the underlying issue and making healthcare more affordable.
Kaiser Family Foundation’s Larry Levitt noted that TrumpRx is for people who are paying for drugs with cash, not the majority of people with insurance, as more than 300 million Americans have coverage.
“As a result, it’s unlikely to have much effect on drug costs generally,” he wrote.
The left-leaning healthcare advocacy organization Protect Our Care accused the president’s launch of being a distraction for an abysmal record.
“TrumpRx is a con, not a cure,” said its chair Leslie Dach. “TrumpRx is all smoke and mirrors, designed to grab headlines while big drug companies keep cashing in with so-called ’deals’ that most companies were already offering.”
Democratic lawmakers, who have for months been pushing for Republicans to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits, which expired at the end of 2025, vented frustration that a Trump website was not a solution for soaring health care costs and pointed out the GOP tax law last year slashed Medicaid.
Dr. Mehmet Oz was asked by CNN directly about the website benefiting those who are paying cash and what he would say to Americans now paying thousands in healthcare premiums.
“Well, the best disinfectant is sunlight, transparency, and this is a big part of our hope with the great healthcare plan, make it easy in plain English to understand what you‘re really getting,” he rambled.
