The Trump-Vance campaign criticized Vice President Kamala Harris’s latest flip-flop on Medicare for All after a campaign official for the Democrat said she will no longer push the issue she championed in 2019.
"Kamala Harris’ spokespeople are once again alleging she has flip flopped on her positions — this time saying she no longer supports socialist Medicare for All," Trump Campaign National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. "Kamala needs to stop insulting the intelligence of voters and speak for herself to explain why she is running from every liberal policy she has ever supported. The mainstream media needs to stop being complicit in her lies and demand answers. Kamala co-sponsored the Medicare For All Act and supported enrolling illegal immigrants in Medicare, forcing hardworking American taxpayers to foot their healthcare bills. As for President Trump, he has remained consistent in his promise to bring down healthcare costs for hardworking American families."
Kamala Harris’ spokespeople are once again alleging she has flip flopped on her positions — this time saying she no longer supports socialist Medicare for All. Kamala needs to stop insulting the intelligence of voters and speak for herself to explain why she is running from every… https://t.co/2N7LTs3GC5
— Karoline Leavitt (@kleavittnh) August 14, 2024
The statement came after a Harris-Walz campaign official told Fox News's Peter Doocy she would back off her previous position, which she emphasized during her 2019 presidential run in Medium post.
But her plan in July was different from what she proposed in January that year, because it would allow private insurers to offer Medicare plans to their clients.
In an interview with The Hill in October 2019, Harris said she knew she would be called "a flip-flopper" after she backed away from her initial support of "Medicare-for-all," and developed her own health care plan.
Her plan in January 2019 called on eliminating private insurance. Then in July 2019, she chose to include a role for private insurance companies to privately administer Medicare plans, though under strict rules.
Even in 2017, Harris backed a single-payer plan proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. (Fox News)
🚨FLASHBACK🚨
— Richard Hudson (@RepHudsonNC) August 13, 2024
“I support Medicare for All, I always have” — Kamala Harris, 2019 https://t.co/J5eCOLs9uN pic.twitter.com/I8VqzvkqRz
As Republicans pointed out, her previous position on Medicare for All included illegal immigrants.
FLASHBACK: Kamala Harris tells Jake Tapper she endorses universal healthcare and Medicare-for-all for illegal immigrants. pic.twitter.com/pwRdtOogVq
— Senate Republicans (@NRSC) July 23, 2024
Harris has changed her tune on a number of positions in recent weeks, including on fracking and border security.
As The Washington Post editorial board pointed out, in calling on her to sit for an interview or hold a press conference, "it’s a lot of mind-changing for the public to absorb without further explanation."
"Without hearing Ms. Harris articulate her thought process, she runs the risk of leaving voters to wonder whether she is just shifting with the political winds, or, indeed, planning to revert to previous positions after she’s won the presidency," the editors added.