Washington, D.C. — A social media post by Attorney General Pam Bondi attributing a decrease in drug overdose deaths to former President Donald Trump’s policies was swiftly deleted after it was revealed that the data actually reflected improvements made during President Joe Biden’s administration. The error has ignited criticism and raised questions about the accuracy of claims made by public officials regarding their accomplishments.
Bondi shared a chart on social media on December 30, 2025, which tracked the national overdose fatalities from October 2015 to October 2024. While she aimed to highlight Trump’s impact on reducing these deaths, the data presented instead showed a significant decline during Biden’s tenure, ultimately prompting the chart’s removal after public backlash.
The graph highlighted the horrors of the opioid crisis, marking a sharp rise in deaths as fentanyl became widespread. Although the numbers plateaued during the late years of Trump’s first term, they notably decreased in the period corresponding to Biden’s presidency, specifically from October 2023 to October 2024.
In her initial post, Bondi credited stringent border control and law enforcement operations under Trump for the downturn in figures, saying, “President Trump closed the border. DOJ agents have seized hundreds of millions of potentially lethal fentanyl doses. Elections have consequences. Electing President Trump and enforcing the law is saving American lives.”
Critics were quick to spot the discrepancy between the timeline Bondi highlighted and Trump’s actual term in office. Democratic Representative Ted Lieu of California pointed out the oversight by thanking Bondi for inadvertently acknowledging Biden’s contributions.
The deletion of the post by Bondi was captured through screenshots by various social media users, preserving the original content for further review. Lieu, among others, utilized these captures to highlight that the improvements occurred under Biden’s leadership.
This occurrence serves as yet another instance of the Trump camp attempting to lay claim to policy success that did not originate during their governance, as seen in various statements and initiatives. Instead of issuing a correction or clarifying her statement, Bondi chose to delete the post—a move that some interpret as an attempt to obscure the factual errors.
Amidst the political controversy, health experts have expressed concerns regarding the future of funding and support for substance abuse programs. Under the new administration directives, substantial budget cuts and structural changes threaten the sustainability of progress made in combating the opioid epidemic.
In September prior to the deletion event, an accidental post by Trump suggested undue pressure on Bondi to pursue legal action against his political adversaries, adding to the controversies surrounding her office and its prosecutorial decisions.
For the numerous families affected by addiction, the political maneuvers offer little solace. They are more concerned about continuous and effective policies that address and mitigate the crisis rather than the political accolades assigned to them.
Thus, while the deleted post highlights a momentary lapse in accurate communication from a high-ranking official, it underscores a larger issue: the critical importance of forthright and fact-based discourse in public policy, particularly when it involves matters of life and death such as the opioid epidemic. The conversation about credit and accountability continues, but at its core, the focus remains on stemming a crisis that has claimed countless lives across the nation.