Attorney General Pam Bondi removed a social media post after it inadvertently spotlighted a decline in drug overdose deaths that occurred while the Biden administration was in office.
What to Know
Bondi shared a chart showing annual drug overdose death rates nationwide and by U.S. region from October 2015 through October 2024. President Donald Trump was inaugurated for his second term in January 2025.
“Since day one, the Trump administration and this Department of Justice have been fighting to end the drug epidemic in our country,” Bondi wrote in the post. “President Trump closed the border. DOJ agents have seized hundreds of millions of potentially lethal fentanyl doses.” The post continued, but the full text is no longer available.
The chart Bondi posted showed that overall drug overdose deaths declined between 2023 and 2024—a period when the Biden administration was still in the White House.
Data from the National Institutes of Health indicated that nationwide overdose deaths fell from roughly 32.5 per 100,000 people to about 25 between October 2023 and October 2024. The decline was reflected across all regions—the Northeast, Midwest, South, and West.
Further data showing whether overdose deaths changed between October 2024 and October 2025 is not yet available.
California Democratic Representative Ted Lieu criticized the post, writing: “Lol, the truth hurts. @AGPamBondi was glazing Trump again with another lying sycophantic tweet, but the chart she attached stopped in Oct 2024, thus showing the great work done by Joe Biden. She later deleted her tweet. Here is the screenshot of her deleted tweet.”
Trump’s War on Drugs
Earlier this month, Trump signed an executive order labeling fentanyl a “weapon of mass destruction,” framing the synthetic opioid not only as a lethal narcotic but as a potential chemical weapon.
The order directs the Pentagon and the Justice Department to take additional steps to curb fentanyl production and distribution, signaling a more aggressive and militarized approach to drug enforcement.
Trump has also escalated pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, following months of heightened rhetoric around illegal immigration and drug trafficking from Venezuela. Trump has accused Maduro of acting as a cartel leader, claims Maduro has rejected, accusing the Trump administration of using them as a pretext to undermine his government and gain access to Venezuela’s oil reserves.
On December 29, Trump said U.S. forces had carried out a strike on a docking area used by what he described as Venezuelan drug boats, though he did not disclose the location.
If confirmed, a U.S. strike on Venezuelan territory would represent a significant escalation in Washington’s campaign against the Maduro government.
