Trump going after Obamacare again is a political gift to 2020 Democrats – Washington Examiner

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President Trump is turning the corner from the 22-month investigation into his presidential campaign by focusing on Obamacare instead.

“We’re going to be the party of great healthcare,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office this week. “And the Democrats have let you down. They really let you down. Obamacare doesn’t work. It’s too expensive. You take a look at everything with deductibles. It’s a disaster.”

This is a gigantic political miscalculation, given Republicans’ failure to repeal the bill they have been campaigning against since 2010.

This all began after a Texas federal court ruled that the Affordable Care Act was unconstitutional in December 2018. On appeal in late March 2019, the Department of Justice told a federal appeals court that it is in favor of entirely striking down Obamacare.

Trump has since promised that any replacement to the Affordable Care Act will be far better than what currently exists, saying, “If the Supreme Court rules that Obamacare is out, we’ll have a plan that is far better than Obamacare.”

Already candidates running in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary have latched onto this issue. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a leading candidate in the Democratic field, criticized Trump, saying to MSNBC’s Chris Hayes, “He talked in his campaign about healthcare for everybody. And then supported legislation that would throw over 30 million people off their healthcare that they have.”

Other Democratic candidates such as Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., said it was “irresponsible” for Trump to be playing politics with peoples’ healthcare, saying, “One of the issues that keeps most Americans up at night regardless of who they vote for is healthcare.” Meanwhile, South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg was “mystified,” saying, “I don’t know how you can become the party of healthcare when you’re now making it abundantly clear that your position on healthcare is to take it away from millions of Americans.”

In contrast, Republicans aren’t very keen on moving on healthcare either.

During an interview, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said, “I look forward to seeing what the president is proposing and what he can work out with the speaker. I am focusing on stopping the ‘Democrats’ Medicare for none’ scheme.”

And why shouldn’t Democrats hit Trump for this? It’s a political gift. This gives them an out from endorsing “Medicare for All” and allows them to refocus their attacks on Republicans for wanting to strip healthcare from millions of Americans. If that’s the fight Trump wants, it’s a fight Democrats are almost eager to have, and it could backfire horribly on the GOP.

Source Article from https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/trump-going-after-obamacare-again-is-a-political-gift-to-2020-democrats

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