NPR News:特朗普就职前一周 谈医改方案同时再批北约

President-elect Donald Trump says the Republican replacement for Obamacare will include the goal of, quote, "insurance for everybody" but with a lower price tag than the Affordable Care Act. Trump made that pledge this weekend during an interview with The Washington Post. He also talked to European newspaper reporters and once again raised questions about his commitment to the NATO alliance.
With us to talk about this is NPR's Scott Horsley. Hi, Scott.
SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE: Hi, Kelly.
MCEVERS: So, Scott, in this Washington Post interview, Trump is setting a pretty high bar for the health care plan that Republican lawmakers have promised would replace Obamacare. Is that getting out in front of his fellow Republicans?
HORSLEY: Well, you're right. It is a high bar. He's basically saying to the 20 million people who got coverage under the Affordable Care Act, don't worry; we're still going to cover you after the ACA is repealed. And in fact, we're going to have health insurance for everybody.
Now, that's interesting because up until now, Republicans in Congress have been reluctant to make that kind of pledge. They've often ducked questions about whether their replacement plan will cover as many people as Obamacare does. So Trump is putting a marker down, but it's not at all clear how he would deliver on that promise or even if it's possible.
For example, Trump talks about lower deductibles. It's very hard to have lower deductibles and also have lower premiums and still cover everybody. The president-elect offered no specifics, saying he wants to wait until his nominee for health secretary is confirmed. Tom Price's confirmation here is coming up on Wednesday.
And meanwhile, defenders of the Affordable Care Act have held rallies over the weekend, and they're planning a bus tour starting tomorrow to call attention to what they say are the benefits of Obamacare.

MCEVERS: Trump also rattled some European leaders in this interview with European newspaper reporters where he called NATO obsolete. What's he talking about there?
HORSLEY: Yeah, he was speaking with The Times of London and Germany's Bild newspaper. And in that joint interview, he did say the NATO alliance is important to him, but he also reiterated a charge he made during the campaign, saying NATO's not doing enough to fight terrorism. He also complained about NATO members that are not meeting spending targets for their own defense.
Now, some Europeans have bristled at this. French President Francois Hollande said Europe doesn't need advice from what he called outsiders. Trump's NATO comments are also at odds with his own nominee for defense secretary. Nominee James Mattis told Congress last week the NATO alliance is vital to U.S. national security.
MCEVERS: Finally, Trump spent part of this Martin Luther King Day holiday meeting with the son of the late civil rights leader. He had been feuding over the weekend with another civil rights figure, Georgia Congressman John Lewis. Was this meeting today an attempt at damage control?
HORSLEY: You know, Martin Luther King III said he was trying to be a bridge builder in his meeting with the president-elect, although he was not giving a free pass to Donald Trump. Trump's support from African-Americans in the November election was in the single digits. Here's Martin Luther King III.
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MARTIN LUTHER KING III: Certainly he said that he is going to represent Americans. He's said that over and over again. And I think that we will continue to evaluate that. But I think also we have to consistently engage with pressure, public pressure. My father and his team understood that, did that. And I think that Americans are prepared to do that.
HORSLEY: Now, Trump didn't do himself any favors by denigrating Congressman Lewis. After Lewis had challenged the legitimacy of his election, Trump took to Twitter, calling Lewis all talk and no action. Of course Lewis still bears the scars of his action as a leader of the Selma voting rights campaign and one of those who helped lead the march on Washington where King made his I Have a Dream speech.
MCEVERS: That's NPR's Scott Horsley. Thanks a lot.
HORSLEY: My pleasure, Kelly.