CNN: Abdul El-Sayed Tells Kaitlan Collins How He Plans to Honor Trump
What To Know
- Abdul El-Sayed said he would name a Medicare-for-All bill after Trump to get it through Congress.
- The Michigan Sen.-elect told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins he was serious about the offer.
- He predicted Democrats would accept Trump’s name on the bill if it helped get the legislation through.
CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins wasn’t sure whether Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed (D-MI) was joking when he offered to put Donald Trump’s name on the Medicare-for-All bill to help get it passed.
Collins spoke with El-Sayed on Tuesday’s (November 10) edition of The Source, noting, per Mediaite, “Medicare-for-All has been a big platform of yours that you have pushed, and you’ve said that you want to get it passed. You’ve said that you would even call it Trumpcare-for-All, if that’s what it took.”
The recently elected Michigan senator doubled down on that promise, turning to the camera and saying, “Donald, if you’re watching, we can put your name on it. I know you like to put your name on stuff. You can finally meet the unmet promise in America to guarantee everybody health care. So it’s on the table if you want to do it.”
Collins laughed and asked, “But are you being serious or are you being funny?”
“No, I’m absolutely serious,” El-Sayed responded.
“You would totally vote for that?” Collins asked.
El-Sayed insisted that he doesn’t care what the bill is called. “I want people to have healthcare in this country. Really. Like, I really… what you call it is a secondary issue.”
He continued, “If we’re able to guarantee everybody cradle-to-grave coverage without a copay or premium or deductible, the security of knowing that whatever happens in your life, you’re going to be able to see a doctor without getting hit by a bill… I think that would be a win. So if he wants to call it Trumpcare-for-All, like, I’m game.”
While Collins appeared skeptical, El-Sayed said he believes Democrats would support Trump slapping his name on it if it meant getting the healthcare bill through Congress.
“I bet if the president came out and said, you know, I’m gonna sign this if you call it Trumpcare-for-All, I think we might be able to do it,” he stated.
El-Sayed, who holds a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil/Ph.D.) in public health, said he’s “been working on this question” for his entire career. “What better way to answer the mandate that the American public gave Democrats but to say, ‘Hey, look, we can finally, once and for all, solve the challenge of American healthcare in this country,” he concluded.
You can watch the full interview in the video above.
The Source With Kaitlan Collins, Weeknights, 9/8c, CNN
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