Rhianna Benson
Donald Trump has come under fire for claiming the United States government 'can't take care of day care'.
During a rant delivered on Wednesday (1 Apr) aimed at justifying further spending on conflict against Iran, the President claimed day care funding should be left to state officials, not his right-wing administration.
Comparing the importance of the two, the 79-year-old began by recalling a conversation he'd recently had with Russell Vought, the Office of Management and Budget Director.
"I said to Russell, 'Don’t send any money for day care,' because the United States can’t take care of day care," Trump began. "That has to be up to a state. We can’t take care of day care.
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"We’re a big country. We have 50 states. We have all these other people."
He quickly added: "We’re fighting wars. We can’t take care of day care."
Touching on the war that he and Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu kick-started in February against Iran, by firing devastating missiles at Tehran and killing the country's Supreme Leader, he suggested that individual states raise their taxes to fund day care facilities.
"It’s not possible for us to take care of day care, Medicaid, Medicare — all these individual things, they can do it on a state basis," Trump insisted again.
"You can’t do it on a federal. We have to take care of one thing: military protection. We have to guard the country.
"But all these little things, all these little scams that have taken place — you have to let states take care of them, Russell."
Unsurprisingly, Trump's remarks have sparked widespread concern amongst Americans, who've taken issue with his comparison between the need for warfare and day care funding.
"It’s a bizarre strategy to tell American families that the 'big country' is too busy fighting wars to support the very children who are supposed to be its future," one X user hit out.
"You can't claim to be 'Pro-Family' while freezing $2.4 billion in childcare subsidies and moving to eliminate Head Start in the middle of a care crisis.
"In 2026, the 'we’re at war' excuse doesn't fly when parents are being forced out of the workforce because they can't find or afford a single open slot. If we have the resources for 8,000+ targets and a global naval presence, we have the resources to ensure a toddler has a safe place to go during the day."
The same user added: "Prioritising foreign escalations over domestic stability isn't 'strength', it's a massive policy failure that treats the American middle class as an afterthought."
Another agreed, sharing footage of Trump's controversial speech: "Saying the quiet part out loud. He doesn’t give a damn about childcare or Medicare, but he’s got plenty to spend on war in Iran."
A third noted: "So we can fight wars, but we can’t take care of our own citizens."