President Donald Trump said in a tweet Sunday that he wants to spend more on health care, an unexpected position that appears to be at odds with his party's policy, as well as some of his own recent statements.
"I suggest that we add more dollars to Healthcare and make it the best anywhere. ObamaCare is dead - the Republicans will do much better!" Trump tweeted on Sunday night.
I suggest that we add more dollars to Healthcare and make it the best anywhere. ObamaCare is dead - the Republicans will do much better!
At face value, Trump's suggestion seemed to contradict long-held Republican views on healthcare policy. Saving money has been a central part of the GOP's arguments for repealing Obamacare. The party's replacement bill, the American Health Care Act, would result in a $1.1 trillion decrease in health care spending over the next 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
The lower price tag of the AHCA was a major selling point. Its passage in the House of Representatives was marked by a triumphant press conference in the White House Rose Garden, in which Trump praised the bill as a "great plan."
Has the president changed his mind? No one was immediately sure.
What does this even mean? https://t.co/v1a3jrwiu4
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Someone should let Trump know that the AHCA is what Republicans have come up with, and it's the opposite of "add mo… https://t.co/AXfTv0vShS
Consider printing this out and asking your Republican rep about it at their next town hall... https://t.co/BDubdpYhjz
buddy I've got some bad news for you about your healthcare bill https://t.co/qgz0OtRXkb
Even with his support of the AHCA, Trump's held varying positions on health care that differ from his GOP colleagues. In January, he told the Washington Post he wanted "insurance for everybody." And on the same day the AHCA passed the House, Trump publicly praised Australia's universal health care.
Trump's tweet on health care spending was one of many on Sunday on topics including White House leaks and the media. His account had largely gone quiet while he was touring the Middle East and Europe in his first trip abroad as president, amid reports that White House lawyers could begin vetting his tweets.
According to Trump, those reports were false.
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