Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed (D-Mich.) on Tuesday appealed to Donald Trump with an offer tailor-made for one of the president’s well-known weak spots as he pitched a Medicare-for-all program.
“Donald, if you’re watching, we can put your name on it,” El-Sayed said on CNN. “I know you like to put your name on stuff. You can finally meet the unmet promise in America to guarantee everybody healthcare. So, it’s on the table if you want to do it.”
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins asked El-Sayed if he was being serious.
“I’m absolutely serious,” he said. “I don’t care what it’s called. I want people to have healthcare in this country.”
El-Sayed, who made a similar offer last week during an interview with Zeteo’s Mehdi Hasan, said he wants Americans to have cradle-to-grave coverage with no copays, premiums or deductibles and no risk of medical debt.
“I think that would be a win,” he said. “So if he wants to call it Trumpcare, I’m game.”
Trump has, for a decade, vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act ― a.k.a. Obamacare ― and he would have succeeded in 2017 if not for the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
The president has said he wants to replace it with his own system, although he’s never released any truly detailed specifics. During the 2024 campaign, he famously said he had the “concepts of a plan,” and his more recently introduced “Great Healthcare Plan” is more of an outline than a policy proposal.
El-Sayed said this was a priority for him.
“I’ve been working on this question for my entire career,” he said on CNN, adding that last week’s midterm elections have put Democrats in a position to do something about it.
“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 said.
See the full interview below: