--- title: Donald Trump Discusses 'Mean' Senate Health Bill description: President Trump described the Republican health care bill as "mean," but that won't change his support of the bill, which he expects to pass canonical: https://time.com/4832054/trump-health-care-bill-senate-support/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-06-25T14:10:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T06:28:31.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Trump Thinks the Health Care Bill Is 'Mean' og:description: But he still supports it og:url: https://time.com/4832054/trump-health-care-bill-senate-support/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt40f3eb26ed804158/6988d33f096a9408f169e83f/trump-health-care.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: President Trump Gives Statement On Healthcare At General Mitchell Airport in Milwaukee og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump Thinks the Health Care Bill Is 'Mean' twitter:description: But he still supports it twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt40f3eb26ed804158/6988d33f096a9408f169e83f/trump-health-care.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump Thinks the Health Care Bill Is 'Mean.' But He Still Supports It > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Senator Chuck Schumer Responds to GOP Health Care Plan [Watch (HLS stream): Senator Chuck Schumer Responds to GOP Health Care Plan](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/QeiVzBMf.m3u8) (0:56)  _Published 2017-06-22. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer responds to the reveal of the Republican senators' health care plan._  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Updated: Dec 13, 2023 6:28 AM UTCPublished: Jun 25, 2017 2:10 PM UTC  President Donald Trump speaks about healthcare after arriving at General Mitchell International Airport on June 13, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. President Donald Trump speaks about healthcare after arriving at General Mitchell International Airport on June 13, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Scott Olson—Getty Images  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Updated: Dec 13, 2023 6:28 AM UTCPublished: Jun 25, 2017 2:10 PM UTC [President Donald Trump](http://www.thedrive.com/news/11769/video-shows-president-donald-trump-driving-golf-cart-on-green) confirmed Sunday that he had characterized the House’s version of the Obamacare repeal bill as “mean,” but gave no indication that will lessen his support of the legislation. Trump made the admission during a Fox News interview when he fielded a question about former President Barack Obama’s [response to the recently unveiled Senate version of the bill.](http://time.com/4829343/barack-obama-senate-healthcare-bill/) Obama insisted that “small tweaks over the course of the next couple weeks, under the guise of making these bills easier to stomach, cannot change the fundamental meanness at the core of this legislation.” “He used my term, mean. That was my term because I want to see – and I speak from the heart, that’s what I want to see. I want to see a bill with heart,” Trump told Fox News’ Pete Hegseth. Earlier this month, CNN reported that Trump had [called the House bill “mean”](http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/13/politics/trump-senators-health-care-white-house-meeting/index.html) in a luncheon with Republican senators, saying it did not provide enough protection for individuals. House Speaker Paul Ryan [downplayed Trump’s response,](http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/06/20/paul-ryan-obamacare-repeal-replace-trump-american-health-care-act) telling Fox News it was “some kind of a misinterpretation of a private meeting.” The Congressional Budget Office, which offers non-partisan analysis, estimated that under the House version of the health care bill,[ 23 million fewer Americans](http://time.com/4793159/health-care-bill-cbo-score-republicans/?iid=sr-link6) would have health insurance by 2026, largely due to shrinking Medicaid eligibility. The CBO is slated to release its analysis of the Senate bill this coming week. But, like the House version, the Senate’s bill also aims to phase out the portion of Obamacare that provides federal funding for states to expand medicaid. A month before he officially launched his bid for president, Trump tweeted that he [would not touch the Medicaid program.](http://time.com/4828769/health-care-bill-medicaid-trump-cuts/?iid=sr-link1) > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/596338364187602944) But in his interview on Sunday, Trump seemed confident in the contents of the Senate’s bill, as well as its passage. Still, he predicted some changes to placate the senators who are currently not supporting the legislation. “We have a very good plan,” he said. “We have a few people that are – I think you could say modestly – they’re not standing on the rooftops and screaming. They want to get some points, I think they’ll get some points.” **Correction:** The original version of this story misstated which health care bill President Trump confirmed he had described as “mean.” It was the House bill, not the Senate bill. ## Transcript This is a bill designed to strip away health care benefits and protections from Americans who need it most in order to give a tax break to the folks who need it least. Simply put, this bill will result in higher costs, less care, and millions of Americans will lose their health insurance. Particularly through Medicade. Its every bid is bad as the house bill, in some ways its even worse, the president said the senate bill needed heart, the way this bill cuts healthcare is heartless. The president said, the senate bill needed heart The way this bill cuts healthcare is heartless. The president said the house bill was mean. The senate bill may be meaner. The senate republican healthcare bill is a wolf in sheep's clothing. 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