NEW: Mike Duggan Shamelessly Defends Donald Trump’s Health Care Cuts

NEW: Mike Duggan Shamelessly Defends Donald Trump's Health Care Cuts

Duggan: "These Medicaid cuts are not as bad as they look."

A shocking new report from the Detroit Metro Times reveals that Mike Duggan shamelessly defended Donald Trump's deeply unpopular health care cuts, saying that "these Medicaid cuts are not as bad as they look."

Duggan "downplayed the impact of sweeping Medicaid cuts" that will jack up costs, rip health care away from up to 700,000 Michiganders, threaten rural clinics that are already struggling to keep their doors open, and cost Michigan hospitals $6 billion.

In a desperate response, Duggan's campaign tried to claim he opposed Trump's health care cuts, but "when asked to point to Duggan's public opposition to the GOP cuts," his campaign didn't provide any examples. The Metro Times noted they "couldn't find an instance in which Duggan spoke out against the Medicaid cuts."

This comes after a recent story uncovered the vast network of far right Republicans, MAGA loyalists, and "conservative power brokers" funding Duggan's campaign.

Read more from the Detroit Metro Times on Duggan defending Medicaid cuts:

• Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, who is running for Michigan governor as an independent after decades as a self-proclaimed Democrat, downplayed the impact of sweeping Medicaid cuts under former President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill."

• Speaking to business leaders at a Royal Oak Chamber of Commerce event last week, Duggan said the reductions "aren't as bad as they look" and defended the law's controversial work requirement for Medicaid recipients.

• "These Medicaid cuts are not as bad as they look, if state government knows what it's doing," he said.

• But health care leaders and Democrats say Duggan is ignoring the reality of Trump's legislation, which slashes $840 billion from Medicaid over the next decade and adds new administrative barriers that experts say will cause millions of low-income Americans to lose coverage.

• Brian Peters, CEO of the Michigan Health and Hospital Association, warned the cuts "will be disastrous for Michigan health care," saying hospitals "will be faced with difficult choices that will include eliminating service lines or even entire facilities." Peters said the bill will cost Michigan hospitals more than $6 billion in Medicaid funding over ten years.

• Rural hospitals, many of which are struggling, stand to be hit hardest. In the Upper Peninsula, Ontonagon's only hospital has closed, Aspirus Health in Ironwood has stopped delivering babies, and Sturgis Hospital recently ended inpatient care. A Republican hospital executive in Hillsdale even called Trump's bill "devastating," saying it "is going to hurt lives in this country - not just in Michigan, but in rural hospitals across the country."

• More than 700,000 Michiganders are projected to lose coverage as a result of the new law, which includes shorter eligibility periods, added reporting requirements, and expanded work rules that states must enforce.

• Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel accused Duggan of siding with Trump's donors over working families.

• "Mike Duggan's campaign is being bankrolled by MAGA donors and loyalists to Donald Trump, and now he's dismissing concerns about Michiganders who are going to lose their care," Hertel said. "More than 700,000 people across the state are set to lose their coverage, health care costs are going up, and hospitals are struggling to stay afloat - but for Duggan, these cuts 'are not as bad as they look.'"

• Campaign spokesperson Andrea Bitley said that Duggan was "strongly opposed to the cuts this year." But when asked to point to Duggan's public opposition to the GOP cuts, Bitley simply responded, "He's addressed it multiple times."

• Metro Times couldn't find an instance in which Duggan spoke out against the Medicaid cuts.

• Duggan's political balancing act is turning off many Democrats. As Metro Times previously reported, Duggan's campaign has raised millions from wealthy GOP funders, including major Trump donors Roger Penske, Ron Weiser, and J.C. Huizenga.

• Meanwhile, Michigan is bracing for deep budget reductions from the federal cuts. A July report by the nonpartisan Citizens Research Council warned that the One Big Beautiful Bill will cost the state more than $1 billion in lost revenue and could force major reductions in health and social programs.

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