President Donald Trump stepped up efforts to build support for his administration's health system change efforts today at two events in the White House.
"Obamacare has been a disaster, and it's only getting worse," Trump told health insurance company chief executive officers who came in for a meeting in the Oval Office, according a transcript provided by the White House.
Later, Trump told a banquet hall full of governors that trying to change the current Affordable Care Act system is politically risky but the right thing to do.
Right now, Trump said, people are starting to think that they like the current system because they've gotten used to it and are a little sad to see it go.
But "it's a disaster," Trump said, according to a video of the event posted by the White House. "There's nothing to love."
Trump is preparing to give a major address to a joint session of Congress tomorrow evening. He's expected to kick the campaign to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act into high gear at the joint session.
Today, Trump focused on selling policymakers on points he and other members of his administration have made in the past.
At the gathering for health insurance company CEOs, he promoted efforts to let health insurers sell coverage across state lines, expand the health savings account program, and give states more flexibility.
Another thing Trump may have done at the two events was, possibly, to give hints about who might have a shot at influencing what he thinks about health policy and changing the ACA.
In this video, Vice President Mike Pence and President Donald Trump address governors who were in Washington this week for a National Governors Association meeting. (Video: White House/YouTube)
