President Donald Trump “hasn’t figured out how to lie about Medicaid cuts,” according to MSNBC Opinion Editor, James Downie.
This is because, since February, he’s been giving mixed messages about the program.
“‘He said Medicaid 'isn’t going to be touched’ and then, the next day, endorsed the House bill that very much ‘touches’ it,” Downie said.
More recently, Trump is claiming “Republicans will target only ‘waste, fraud and abuse,’” of the program.
The alleged cuts could be in the president’s so-called “big, beautiful bill.” The key legislation is attempting to extend 2017’s tax cuts while reducing spending by $1.5 trillion.
To accomplish this, the spending bill will likely need to make cuts elsewhere, which is where the concern for Medicaid comes in.
“I would [veto the bill] if they were cutting [Medicaid], but they’re not cutting it. They’re looking at fraud, waste, and abuse,” Trump told NBC News’ Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press.”
At an event in Michigan last week, the President slightly changed his tune again, saying, “We want to preserve Medicaid for the most vulnerable, for our kids, our pregnant women, the poor and disabled.”
“If concern for the ‘most vulnerable’ sounds distinctly un-Trumpian, that’s because the language comes from congressional Republicans,” Downie wrote.
A recent survey of 10 battleground districts, conducted by GOP polling firm Meeting Street Insights on behalf of a mental health advocacy group, found that 68% of voters “say cutting Medicaid benefits in order to pay for tax cuts is a bad idea, while only 22% say it is a good idea.”
The poll also found 44% of Republicans think cutting Medicaid a “bad idea.”
“Even MAGA influencers like Steve Bannon and Laura Loomer have warned Republicans about cutting the program,” Downie noted. However, the possibility of cuts in order to reduce spending is very real.
