Critics mocked President Donald Trump on Wednesday after he claimed that drugs trafficked by sea have a specific name: “ocean drugs.”
Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the recent U.S. strikes on the ships of suspected traffickers, which have come under criticism given that the United States is not at war, and those aboard the ships have not been convicted of any crime.
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Even some Republicans have spoken out against it, with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) slamming it as “summary execution.”
But Rubio insisted that the administration knows exactly who is on the boats and what they’re doing.
“We know what these boats are,” he said. “If you’re running drug boats, you’re in grave danger.”
That’s when the president cut in to crow about the success.
“And drug usage is way down. And drug usage coming from the sea, they call it ocean drugs ― little term that they use, the ocean drugs ― is very close to non-existent right now,” Trump said. “So the ocean drugs and the sea drugs ― drugs by sea they call it also ― that’s almost down to nothing as you can imagine.”
Trump did not cite any data for his claim that “drug usage is way down.” Overdose deaths have been declining since 2023, but current numbers on usage are harder to come by.
And if “ocean drugs” is a term, it’s one not many people have heard or used ― and they let the president know on social media:
