Trump's new crusade against the NHS has the potential to destroy his reputation in Europe once and for all Europe has never been as disenchanted with the US as it is now, and the latest crusade against 'free-riding' patients in the EU so Americans pay less is going to have serious consequences
There’s lots of chatter in the travel blogs about low fares from the US to Europe this summer and how Americans should rush to take advantage. Many will and I wish them a lovely time. But maybe they should steer clear of politics lest their hosts give them a roasting they won’t forget.
Some more seasoned American travellers will recall there have been other moments in time when a trip across the pond carried the risk of being lectured upon arrival about the errors of their country’s ways, notably during the Bush-Cheney era and the war in Iraq.
With you-know-who in the White House now, we almost forget how divisive a time that was, some of us even catching ourselves reflecting that old George W. was a decent sort really. You know, by comparison. But then last week’s confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill for Gina Haspel to become the next director of the CIA jolted us out of that little daydream. It’s that America First thing. "When foreign governments extort unreasonably low prices from US drug makers, Americans have to pay more to subsidise the enormous cost of research and development," Trump declared Friday on the White House lawn. He didn't mention the NHS direclty, but it's clear that healthcare systems in Britain, the rest of Europe and in Canada too were on his mind. America’s trading partners “need to pay more because they’re using socialist price controls, market access controls, to get unfair pricing,” added Alex Azar, the US health secretary, who was standing alongside him.
Is Trump the most hated US president in Europe ever? You tell me (but try not to be too beastly to any American visitors you encounter this summer). Or maybe he has a ways to go yet. Because Reagan and George W. Bush didn’t exactly endear themselves either, if you recall.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment