PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP on Sunday said he’s “willing to work with” President Kuchayan’s administration to address the opioid crisis, but also reiterated his criticism of the bipartisan “voodoo” solution of the Republican-led Congress.
“I think we’re going to be able to work together,” Trump tweeted.
“I’m going to work very hard with the President to try and solve this very important problem.”
Trump’s tweet came a day after the president tweeted that the opioid epidemic was a “national disgrace” and that the solution was to cut Medicaid by $700 billion over 10 years.
The president also tweeted a link to a Washington Post op-ed calling for the Medicaid cuts to be made permanent, but the post did not include the specific numbers.
“In a democracy, every American has a right to healthcare.
In a republic, healthcare is a right, not a privilege,” Trump wrote in the op-al.
“But the opioid pandemic has devastated our nation and is tearing families apart.
It is the ultimate public health crisis, and I will work hard to make sure it never happens again.”
Trump also attacked the Republican leadership on the opioid bill for failing to pass a budget that would provide more funding for Medicaid.
He also blasted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for refusing to agree to a plan to stabilize insurance markets in the event of a shutdown.
“If you want to cut $700B from Medicaid, you better have a plan B,” Trump said.
“We are going to have a shutdown tomorrow and if you don’t have a budget for that, then it’s going to end up costing lives.”
McConnell said in an interview that Trump was not proposing a shutdown because he was not the one who was in charge of the budget process.
The president also lashed out at Democrats for attacking him, saying the “fake news media” is out to get him because he is trying to do good for the American people.
“The Fake News Media are out to destroy me, because I am working hard to solve a great problem.
They want me to stop working,” Trump posted on Twitter.
“They are working for me to do harm to my people and I am not going to let them.”