President Donald Trump has hailed the US as having 'the best healthcare plans in the world', while in the same interview conceding that the system 'doesn't cover everybody, but it covers a lot of people', sharpening an already fierce midterm battle over health policy.

Trump made the remarks on Sunday 25 October in a phone interview with Fox's Larry Kudlow, ahead of a midterm campaign rally in Port Huron, Michigan.

He is backing Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers, a former congressman, against Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, who is campaigning on Medicare for All. Voters go to the polls on Tuesday 3 November.

Trump Attacks Medicare for All in Fox News Call

Mr Kudlow, who was director of the National Economic Council from 2018 to 2021, raised the issue by criticising Medicare for All.

He said it threatened union‑negotiated benefits in Michigan, warning that members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) could lose what he described as generous private‑sector benefits. He also objected to the proposal covering immigrants without permanent legal status.

Trump said people he knew with private plans 'love it', adding: 'It's not expensive and it's great.' He also claimed that friends in Canada travel to the US for medical treatment.

He said autoworkers would 'lose their healthcare plan' under a government scheme, and called Medicare for All 'socialized medicine, and it never works. It's expensive.' He gave no cost figures in the exchange.

Medicare for All, championed by Senator Bernie Sanders, is a single‑payer proposal that would replace much of the private insurance market with a tax‑funded public system.

Supporters argue that cutting out private insurers and using public bargaining power could lower total spending, even if taxes rise. Opponents say the costs are underestimated and that people happy with their current cover could lose it.

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Trump's Healthcare Remarks and the Michigan Tightrope

Unlike most wealthy nations, the US has no universal health coverage, and millions of Americans are uninsured or underinsured. Trump did not address that gap in detail on Sunday.

His comments differ from earlier promises. In a September 2015 interview on CBS's 60 Minutes, he said 'everybody's got to be covered'. As president‑elect in January 2017, he told The Washington Post: 'We're going to have insurance for everybody.'

Mr El-Sayed, an epidemiologist and former Detroit health director, narrowly won the Democratic primary on 4 August, defeating Representative Haley Stevens by 48.5 per cent to 47.5 per cent, according to the Associated Press.

Most polls give him a slight edge over Mr Rogers, though at least two show the pair level, the New York Times has reported. No Republican has held a Senate seat in Michigan for 26 years.

Mr El-Sayed campaigns on three themes: getting money out of politics, putting money in voters' pockets and Medicare for All. At the pair's first debate, Mr Rogers argued that voters 'cannot afford' his opponent and attacked his healthcare plans as too costly.

Trump told Mr Kudlow he had held '14 rallies in nine days'. Mr Kudlow said the president had been 'on a roll' and suggested he might have 'turned this whole thing around'.

He was due to speak at McMorran Place Arena in Port Huron on Sunday afternoon, the first presidential visit to the city and St Clair County, according to Port Huron officials.

Former president Barack Obama was scheduled to campaign with Mr El-Sayed in Detroit the day before.

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