When House Republicans passed a draconian healthcare plan back in May, Donald Trump rushed to the Rose Garden to celebrate this “very, very incredibly well-crafted” plan. But that was a long time ago. Today, Trump met with Senate Republicans about the new bill that they are attempting to put together, and he reportedly urged them to make this one less “mean.”
The Associated Press reports that Trump met with 15 GOP senators for a lunch to discuss the new bill that is currently being drawn up. The bill from the House was pronounced dead on arrival the minute it passed last month. Among other things, the bill would cause 23 million people to lose their insurance according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office. At the time, that didn’t stop Trump from having a stomach-turning celebration in front of the press. He called the bill a “great plan,” but has never really gone into specifics about what’s great about it. As he does, he quickly shifted attention to himself at the press conference. “[I’ve] only been a politician for a short period of time,” he marveled. “How am I doing? Am I doing okay? I’m president. Heh! Hey, I’m president!” It was true.
What doesn’t appear to be true is that Trump thinks the House bill is a “very, very incredibly well-crafted” plan. According to congressional sources speaking to the AP, he said that the new bill should be “more generous, more kind” and that the House’s proposal was “mean, mean, mean.” He reportedly did not specify what parts of the bill he was referring to and it’s possible he doesn’t even know. Sources tell Politico that he “has shown little interest in what is in the bill,” he just disliked the media coverage of it.
It’s an incredible illustration of Trump’s managerial style. He essentially wants Republicans to defy the laws of physics and deliver a plan that’s cheaper, covers more people, is voluntary, and makes America great again, I guess. But he has zero interest in how any of that would be accomplished, or if it’s even possible outside of a single-payer system. Looking for specific suggestions from Trump in recent days, the best you can find is, “I suggest that we add more dollars to Healthcare and make it the best anywhere.”
How’s he doing everybody? He’s president. Heh!