"It just was not a health care speech by any stretch of the imagination. Trump was silent on some enormous changes unfolding in health policy, including cuts to Medicaid and ACA subsidies, despite previously highlighting health-related topics from abortion restrictions to medical breakthroughs."
"It may signal a pivot away from the high-profile, anti-vaccine activism of RFK. Their actions are not terribly popular with the American public about vaccination, and I think it's a liability going into the 2026 midterms. Kennedy has moved aggressively in the past year to upend federal vaccine policy, including unilaterally changing the childhood vaccine schedule."
"The White House defended the attention paid to health topics in Trump's remarks, stating that Trump extensively talked about his health care agenda and that health care affordability and the broader MAHA agenda were and remain top priorities for the entire Administration."
President Trump stated his intention to make health care a central Republican midterm issue, yet his State of the Union address conspicuously avoided numerous health-related topics he previously emphasized. Missing from the speech were discussions of abortion restrictions, medical breakthroughs, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Make America Healthy Again agenda, vaccine policy, autism, Medicaid cuts, and ACA subsidies. Health policy experts note the omission of Kennedy and vaccine-related topics may signal a strategic pivot away from anti-vaccine activism due to its unpopularity with the American public. The White House countered criticism by asserting Trump extensively discussed his health care agenda and that health care affordability remained a top administration priority.
#trump-health-care-policy #state-of-the-union #vaccine-policy #medicaid-and-aca #midterm-elections-strategy
Read at www.npr.org
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