Washington
Trump, omitting any mention of improved benefits for seniors that Democrats promise, writes in an op-ed published on Wednesday in USA Today, “The Democrats’ plan means that after a life of hard work and sacrifice, seniors would no longer be able to depend on the benefits they were promised.”
But Medicare for All means different things to different Democrats. The plan pushed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent who challenged Hillary Clinton for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, would expand Medicare to cover almost everyone in the country, and current Medicare recipients would get improved benefits. Other Democratic plans would allow people to buy into a new government system modeled on Medicare, moving toward the goal of coverage for all while leaving private insurance in place.
Trump’s column comes as he is looking to paint Democratic candidates as extreme ahead of next month’s midterm elections. A White House official speaking to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to describe internal plans said that Trump’s health care attack will be echoed by the Republican National Committee and other GOP groups and that the president will continue to raise the attack during his campaign rallies.
Sanders responded on Wednesday in a statement, saying Trump “is lying about the Medicare for All proposal” that he introduced.
“No, Mr. President. Our proposal would not cut benefits for seniors on Medicare. In fact, we expand benefits,” Sanders said.
As Trump escalates his efforts on behalf of fellow Republicans, he is casting health care as one of an expanding list of choices for the electorate this year while seeking to raise the alarm about the consequences of Democratic control of the House or the Senate.
Medicare for All, also called single-payer over the years, was until fairly recently outside the mainstream of Democratic politics, but this year it has become a key litmus test in many party primaries and a rallying cry for farther-left candidates. Under the plan by Sanders, all Americans would gain access to government insurance with no copays or deductibles for medical services.
Republicans contend that the proposal would be cost-prohibitive and argue it marks government overreach.
Trump has already sought to paint Democrats as extremists after the bitter confirmation battle over Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and internal GOP polling obtained last month by the AP shows that the party believes the message will help galvanize Republican voters to the polls.
At a rally in Iowa on Tuesday, Trump argued that the only reason to vote for Democrats “is if you are tired of winning.” He also held a rally in Pennsylvania on Wednesday evening, even though Hurricane Michael was set to make landfall in Florida at that time.
Trump said in Washington that he faced a “quagmire” because “thousands of people” were already lined up for the event.
“It would be very unfair” to cancel, he told reporters shortly after landing ahead of a fundraiser and rally. He added that the situation was being “very well-covered” and that he’d be back to Washington shortly.