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Trump Criticizes FDA And Big Pharma, Proposes Ban On Government Employees Turning Into Lobbyists

Former President Donald Trump appeared on Theo Fong's podcast on Tuesday to slam the FDA and big pharmaceutical companies, and suggested that government employees should be banned from being lobbyists.

During the period Discussion Speaking about the opioid epidemic and fentanyl crisis on his podcast, “This Past Weekend with Theo Von,” the comedian addressed the influence of Big Pharma in Washington, D.C., where there are thousands of lobbyists outnumbering hundreds of senators and representatives, before questioning former President Trump about solutions to this worsening crisis.

“We need to stop listening to lobbyists. I've never been much of a fan of lobbyists. If you get any closer to a president or a senator or a congressman, they get a ton of money,” Trump told Teo Phong, who criticized FDA officials who have turned into lobbyists for big pharmaceutical companies and called for a total ban on former government officials becoming lobbyists. (Related article: Report: It's surprisingly easy to buy fentanyl raw materials from China)

“I can tell you that if you're an elected official or you work for the government, you can never be a lobbyist,” Trump said about how he would address the issue of lobbyist corruption. “There are people who work for the government and they give contracts to the military, and then they leave and they go work for whoever they gave the contract to.”