Trump is reportedly dealing with self-doubt over his support of the GOP health-care bill

In public, President Trump is having a great time pretending to drive big rigs and wearing pins that read "I Heart Trucks," but behind the scenes, he is seriously regretting throwing his support behind House Speaker Paul Ryan's health-care plan, The New York Times reports.
Four people close to the president told The Times he now wishes he had pushed through tax cuts first, which would have pleased Republicans, rather than focus on the deeply unpopular health-care overhaul. Stephen Bannon, Trump's chief strategist, and Gary Cohn, the director of the National Economic Council, are both in agreement with him, and Trump gave his budget director, Mick Mulvaney, a message that he delivered Thursday night to GOP leaders: Hold a vote on the health-care bill Friday, and if it fails, Trump is moving on.
The Times' Glenn Thrush and Maggie Haberman spoke with more than a dozen aides and allies of Trump, and they said he's spent the last week jittery and impatient. He's someone who cares more about winning than dealing with policy details, the people close to him explained, and he prides himself on making deals, sometimes at the last minute, which is why he's struggling with negotiating with moderate Republicans who think the health-care bill is too harsh and conservatives who think it doesn't go far enough. Jared Kushner, his son-in-law and senior adviser, has said for days he thinks it was a mistake for Trump to support the bill, and senior Republicans told The Times that Vice President Mike Pence suggested Trump keep his distance from the proposal, making sure to remind people that it was all Ryan's idea. Read more about Trump's self-doubt at The New York Times.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Rep. Sylvester Turner dies, weeks after joining House
Speed Read The former Houston mayor and longtime state legislator left behind a final message for Trump: 'Don't mess with Medicaid'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump pauses Ukraine intelligence sharing
Speed Read The decision is intended to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy into peace negotiations with Vladimir Putin
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court rules against Trump on aid freeze
Speed Read The court rejected the president's request to freeze nearly $2 billion in payments for foreign humanitarian work
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Texas outbreak brings 1st US measles death since 2015
Speed read The outbreak is concentrated in a 'close-knit, undervaccinated' Mennonite community in rural Gaines County
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Mystery illness spreading in Congo rapidly kills dozens
Speed Read The World Health Organization said 53 people have died in an outbreak that originated in a village where three children ate a bat carcass
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Ozempic can curb alcohol cravings, study finds
Speed read Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy may also be helpful in limiting alcohol consumption
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New form of H5N1 bird flu found in US dairy cows
Speed Read This new form of bird flu is different from the version that spread through herds in the last year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Microplastics accumulating in human brains, study finds
Speed Read The amount of tiny plastic particles found in human brains increased dramatically from 2016 to 2024
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
FDA approves painkiller said to thwart addiction
Speed Read Suzetrigine, being sold as Journavx, is the first new pharmaceutical pain treatment approved by the FDA in 20 years
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Study finds possible alternative abortion pill
Speed Read An emergency contraception (morning-after) pill called Ella could be an alternative to mifepristone for abortions
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
California declares bird flu emergency
Speed Read The emergency came hours after the nation's first person with severe bird flu infection was hospitalized
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published