We always knew Trump wasn’t sincere about protecting Medicare and Medicaid. But he just betrayed his own lie by saying that the two programs – which provide 140 million people with health coverage – should NOT EXIST on the federal level. Why? Because defense should be the federal government’s only priority.

Trump didn’t run as a libertarian. But his (poorly worded) declaration would make the Cato Institute blush:

“It’s not possible for us to take care of… Medicare, Medicaid. They have to do it on a state basis. All these little scams… you have to let states take care of them. We have to take care of one thing: military protection.” – President Donald Trump, April 1, 2026

Trump clearly is using his undeclared war on Iran to justify cutting health care for older and lower income Americans. In other words:  we apparently can afford $200 billion for a senseless war in the Middle East, but not for our country’s social safety net programs.

Read more: Trump Throws Medicare, Medicaid Under The Bus for War in Iran