Is Medicaid, Childcare on the Chopping Block?

President Donald Trump is making the war against Iran his top priority, but until now, he’s promised that the U.S. could handle the financial pressure from the war and that the struggle would be necessary for his “America First” mission… Now, it seems the president isn’t confident that the U.S. can maintain military strikes abroad while handling internal issues, and folks are on high alert.

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Ayo Edebiri, ‘OPUS’ Cast on Staying Sane in Hollywood and the Film’s Ambiguous Ending

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Ayo Edebiri, ‘OPUS’ Cast on Staying Sane in Hollywood and the Film’s Ambiguous Ending

During a private Easter luncheon at the White House on Wednesday (April 1), Trump told guests it’s just “not possible” for the country to pay for Medicaid, Medicare and daycare for Americans while also fighting overseas in Iran. Given the fact that most Americans aren’t confident in the president’s handle on the economy, according to a recent CNN poll, his words were more than alarming.

We previously told you inflation and international tariffs on imports have already impacted millions across the nation. With the added pressure from the U.S.- Iranian war raising gasoline prices nationally, Americans have been left to foot Trump’s bill.

You might be wondering if Trump’s remarks were a simple April Fools Day prank… But he revealed he instructed Russell Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, “don’t send any money for daycare, because the United States can’t take care of daycare. That has to be up to a state, adding, “We’re a big country. We have 50 states. We have all these other people. We’re fighting wars. We can’t take care of daycare. You got to let a state take care of daycare, and they should pay for it too.”

The clip from the private event was posted to the White House’s official YouTube channel, but soon it was taken down.

Many Democrats called out Trump and compared the cost of childcare to the growing cost of the military operation in Iran. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, the Pentagon spent over $11.3 billion within the first week of military operations.

“Trump says we can pay for war in Iran but can’t afford childcare. Mr. President, the billions you wasted in Iran could pay for $10 day childcare for every American family with childcare workers paid $25 an hour,” Calif. Rep. Ro Khanna wrote on X. Due to inflation, American families have been spending more on childcare– over $1,000 a month per child– according to CNBC News.

It’s important to note that for months, the Trump administration and Republicans nationwide have been accusing several states– namely Minnesota, the home of Trump’s political enemy Rep. Ilhan Omar– of using federal grants for childcare to commit fraud. This even led the Health and Human Services Department to halt childcare and family assistance funds for five Democrat-led states: California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York.

It’s also under his administration that cuts to Medicare and Medicaid occurred with the passing of the GOP-led “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” from last summer, The Root also reported. While it remains unclear if Trump was actually serious about completely defunding Medicare and Medicaid, almost 2 out of every 5 Americans are covered by the government health programs could be impacted, according Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

This is all in efforts to root out fraud in the federal government, according to Trump. Since the virtual end of the president’s Department of Government Efficiency, he tapped Vice President JD Vance to lead a new new anti-fraud task force.

“We will call him the ‘FRAUD CZAR,’ and his focus will be ‘EVERYWHERE,’” the president posted on Truth Social on April 3, adding that Vance’s focus will “primarily” be on blue states. “The numbers are so large that, if successful, we would literally be able to balance our American Budget,” Trump promised.