Donald Trump says Republicans are 'going strongly for big tax cuts'

President announces new direction after forced back down on healthcare bill

Picture: (Chip Somodevilla/Getty)

Donald Trump has said that Republicans will go "very, very strongly for big tax cuts and tax reform", after failing to get enough support for a controversial health bill that would have dismantled Obamacare.

Mr Trump insisted his humiliating back-down would benefit his administration in the long term and would provide it with longer to gather backers for the controversial bill.

Instead, he said he would turn his attention to taxation, an issue he said, "I've always liked".

Details of Mr Trump's tax plans had been expected in May, according to his budget director Mick Mulvany, but Friday's statements suggest Americans may have news of the changes sooner.

Mr Trump also used the press conference to claim that "Obamacare will explode" and "cease to exist".

Mr Trump claimed that "I've been saying for the last year and a half that the best thing we can do politically speaking is let Obamacare explode. It's exploding right now."

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