Inside President Trump's health care deal flip-flop
Never trust him. Period.
Inside President Trump's health care deal flip-flop
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/18/politics/trump-flip-flop-health-care/index.html?sr=twCNNp101817trump-flip-flop-health-care1244PMVODtop&CNNPolitics=Tw
By Jeremy Diamond and Jeff Zeleny, CNN
Updated 12:19 PM ET, Wed October 18, 2017
Can Alexander/Murray health care deal pass? 05:47
Story highlights
Trump initially backed a bipartisan effort to fund Obamacare subsidy payments
But after blowback from conservatives, the President has gone the other way
Trump has generally focused on the politics of health care, not the policy details
Washington (CNN)He was for it before he was against it.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday abruptly crushed hopes of a bipartisan health care with the stroke of a tweet that recategorized a deal he had praised less than 24 hours earlier as a "very good solution" into something he "can never support."
The sudden reversal came after the White House faced immediate blowback from conservatives and GOP leadership following the President's praise for the bipartisan deal brokered by Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, that seeks to stabilize health care markets by funding the health care subsidy payments for two years in exchange for more state flexibility in Obamacare.
But his advisers reminded him that conservatives are not in favor of this compromise and likely won't support it or even bring it up for a vote (House Speaker Paul Ryan would come out against the plan Wednesday). His attempt to dial it back Tuesday night wasn't strong enough, so the morning tweet was seen as necessary.
"We can't have another health care failure," a White House official said, explaining how aides prevailed on him to reverse course.
Health care state of play: Trump blasts bipartisan deal
Health care state of play: Trump blasts bipartisan deal
The President's mixed messaging following initial praise for the bipartisan effort once again underscored a central characteristic in his approach that has marred repeated efforts to pass health care reform: A lack of engagement with the details of the legislation on the table...........................