Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump Doesn't Name Names, But Takes Jab At McCain For Health Care Vote
Politico: Trump Sticks It To GOP In Thundering Phoenix Speech
President Donald Trump put the Republican Party on notice on Tuesday evening — implicitly attacking two Republican senators on their home turf, threatening a government shutdown over his border wall, and demanding that senators kill the filibuster because it's impeding his agenda. ... Trump did not name Sen. John McCain or Sen. Jeff Flake by name in his remarks — he joked that his aides pleaded with him not to mention the senators explicitly — but it was unmistakable who he was talking about. Over and over, Trump noted that Senate Republicans were "one vote away" from passing a bill to repeal Obamacare. The crowd at the Phoenix Convention Center immediately began jeering McCain, a longtime Trump critic who delivered the tie-breaking vote that sank the overhaul bill. The 80-year-old McCain is being treated for brain cancer. (Isenstadt, 8/23)
Los Angeles Times: Trump Fills Phoenix Speech With Charged Language, Accusing Media And Fellow Republicans Of Failings
Raising the subject of the failed GOP effort to repeal and replace Obamacare, Trump repeatedly noted that the Senate fell “just one vote away from victory after seven years of everyone proclaiming ‘repeal and replace.’ One vote,” he said, referring to McCain. At that, a member of the audience screamed “Traitor,” seemingly referring to the Navy veteran who spent years as a Vietnam War prisoner before going into politics.Trump, in a sarcastic tone, characterized Flake as an inconsequential senator.“Nobody wants me to talk about him,” Trump said. “Nobody knows who the hell he is.... See, I haven’t mentioned any names and now everyone is happy.” (Decker, 8/22)
Meanwhile —
Detroit Free Press: Sanders Rallies Crowd With Condemnation Of Nazi Rally, Trump Reaction
What was supposed to be a town hall meeting in Detroit on health care and the need for good jobs transformed into a campaign-like rally featuring former presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. John Conyers. Sanders, an independent from Vermont, started his remarks decrying the white supremacist rally that happened in Charlottesville, Va., that left three people dead and 19 injured, and President Donald Trump's reaction to it. (Gray, 8/22)
