Trump aides scramble as off-the-cuff Medicaid remarks leave GOP 'blindsided': report

Contradictory comments made by Donald Trump on Wednesday had both his own staff and Republicans working overtime to get on the same page on where the party stands on Medicaid.

According to a report from Politico's Ben Leonard, Adam Cancryn and Robert King, the president at first reaffirmed his belief that the program that provides help for millions should not be touched and then, hours later, threw his support behind a House proposal that would severely gut the program.

Politico reported that set off a mad scramble among Trump aides who were as "blindsided" as some GOP lawmakers who were immediately asked what the president was agreeing to.

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This, in turn, has put Republicans in a position to have to assuage the fears of voters in their respective districts.

"Trump’s seemingly contradictory comments — shared in a Fox News interview Tuesday evening and then Truth Social Wednesday morning — are also fueling confusion and concern among Republicans on Capitol Hill, who are looking to him for political cover as they contemplate a potentially risky vote," Politico reported, with Senior Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley (IA) admitting, "You’ve got to look at if it is worth the political struggle to do it. Entitlements are difficult to deal with.”

After a Trump spokesperson issued a statement claiming, "The Trump administration is committed to protecting Medicare and Medicaid while slashing the waste, fraud, and abuse within those programs — reforms that will increase efficiency and improve care for beneficiaries,” followed by a stream of clarifications, insisting Medicaid was not to be touched with the focus instead on "slashing the waste, fraud and abuse within the program.”

The Politico report added, "Trump’s support for the House plan, and lack of clarity about what he means by it, has effectively left Republicans without guidance on how far the White House will go in providing political cover for potential cuts, the three people involved in the discussions conceded."

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