White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer has defended Donald Trump's previous comments that healthcare planning is "hard" after the president made new claims that it is "easy".

Trump made his initial comments during his February news conference. They have been revisited since his push to repeal and replace Obamacare fell at the first hurdle.

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Trump had said at the press conference: "I have to tell you, it's an unbelievably complex subject. Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated" while also explaining there would not be a second push to replace Obamacare in the near future.

However, on Wednesday (29 March) Spicer insisted the president had not been serious: "He was poking fun and making a joke."

At a White House reception the day before, Trump told senators from both sides of the floor, in comments carried by the Associated Press (AP): "I know that we're all going to make a deal on health care. That's such an easy one."

The president made it clear there would be another attempt to replace Obamacare in the near future, adding: "I have no doubt that that's going to happen very quickly" – comments that directly contradicted the GOP's sentiment in the immediate aftermath of the bill's debate being cancelled by the House.

At that time, House Speaker Paul Ryan had said: "We are going to be living with Obamacare for the foreseeable future," appearing to confirm Trump's threat that a failure to pass his healthcare bill would mean the existing system remained in place.

Donald Trump