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The debate over the future of the Affordable Care Act appeared to be effectively over. Republican presidential candidates have abandoned their “repeal and replace” rhetoric; GOP lawmakers in Congress have done the same thing; and by all appearances, the party has effectively waved the white flag. It took a long while, but “Obamacare” won the day.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that the issue has “disappeared” and the debate is “largely settled.”
It was against this backdrop that Donald Trump apparently thought it’d be a good idea to publish this message to his social media platform on Saturday morning.
The cost of Obamacare is out of control, plus, it’s not good Healthcare. I’m seriously looking at alternatives. We had a couple of Republican Senators who campaigned for 6 years against it, and then raised their hands not to terminate it. It was a low point for the Republican Party, but we should never give up!
So, a few things.
First, as a substantive matter, much of the former president’s message is simply gibberish. ACA costs are not spiraling out of control, and in all sincerity, I haven’t the foggiest idea what “it’s not good Healthcare” means in this context.
Second, Trump is inviting a political fight he’s very likely to lose. Semafor reported overnight that President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign “is eagerly planning to make the Affordable Care Act a bigger issue” in response to Trump’s missive. The report added, “Both the Biden campaign and top surrogates will emphasize the topic in the coming days, according to a Biden campaign official, who said Trump continues to take ‘toxic, extreme positions’ that are ‘political winners’ for Democrats.
In case anyone’s forgotten, the Republicans’ 2017 effort to tear down the ACA was a disaster for the party, which Democrats exploited to help take back the House majority in the 2018 midterm elections. If you’re thinking Democrats would love to have that fight again in 2024, you’re right.
But even putting these relevant details aside, I’m stuck on Trump’s “I’m seriously looking at alternatives” assertion. The line was laughable in large part because he’s been “seriously looking at alternatives” for quite some time.
Ahead of his 2016 election, Trump assured voters he’d replace the Affordable Care Act with “something terrific,” but he refused to provide any details. In the years that followed, the Republican continued to assure the public he and his team would unveil an amazing health care plan that would offer more coverage at a lower cost. It’s a promise that always went unmet.
It became rather comical. In July 2020, the then-president told Fox News he’d have a “full and complete” health care plan “within two weeks.” Two weeks later, he told reporters to expect the plan “very soon.” (He added earlier in the day that the policy blueprint would be “very big.”)
Days later, Trump boasted that this health care plan was “just about completed.”
In October 2020, the Republican sat down with CBS News’ Lesley Stahl for a “60 Minutes” interview, during which he boasted that his health care plan was “fully developed” and would be unveiled “very soon.”
That was more than four years ago. Now we’re supposed to believe the former president is “seriously looking at alternatives” to the current health care system? I have some bad news for those inclined to believe such nonsense.