President Donald Trump Tuesday expressed anger at Democrats for being against Obamacare reform and disappointment at Senate Republicans who refused to sign onto their party’s bill to reform Obamacare, forcing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to abandon the measure in…
« I’m certainly disappointed, » Trump told reporters.
« For seven years I’ve been hearing repeal and replace from Congress and I’ve been hearing it loud and strong. When we finally get a chance to repeal and replace, they don’t take advantage of it. So that’s disappointing. »
Trump said the measure will go on, and « we’ll win » on many other agenda items as well.
« We’re going to win on taxes, » he said. « We’re going to win on infrastructure and lots of other things that we’re doing. We’ve won and are winning the war as you know on the border. We’re very much decimating ISIS. You can see that. You see that better than anybody sees it. »
But even as a civilian, for the past seven years he’d been hearing about healthcare and repeal and replace.
« Obamacare is a total disaster, » said Trump. « Some states have had over a 200 percent increase in their premiums, and their deductibles are through the roof. It’s an absolute disaster. »
It would have been nice to have Democratic support, Trump also said, « but really, they’re obstructionists. They have no ideas. They have no thought process. All they want to do is obstruct government and obstruct, period. »
In this case, Trump said, « Obamacare isn’t failing. It’s failed. It’s gone. »
Trump pointed out he’s been saying for a long time to allow Obamacare to fail, and then « everybody’s going to have to come together and fix it and come up with a new plan, and a plan that’s really good for the people with much lower premiums, much lower costs, and much better protection. »
It would be « a lot easier » to allow Obamacare to fail, and « we’re probably in that position, » said Trump.
But as for Republicans and Obamacare’s failure, « I’m not going to own it. I can tell you the Republicans are not going to own it. to own it. I’m not going to own it. I can tell you the Republicans are not going to own it, » the president said.
Instead, Democrats will be forced to come to Republicans and ask how to fix Obamacare or come up wiith a new plan.
« I am disappointed because for so many years I’ve been hearing repeal and replace, » said Trump. « I’m sitting in the Oval Office right next door, pen in hand, waiting to sign something, and I’ll be waiting and eventually we’re going to get something done and it’s going to be very good. »
Obamacare, he continued, is a « big failure and it has to be changed…it may not be as quick as we had hoped but it’s going to happen. OK? »
He also refused to label Republicans who would not agree to the reform bill as being disloyal, as « they had their own reasons. »
Trump said he was surprised, though, when Utah Sen. Mike Lee and Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran came out against the repeal measure.
« But if you really think about it, you look at it, and we have 52 people, » said Trump. « We had no Democrat support, which is really, you know, something that should be said. We should have had Democrats vote. It was a great plan for a lot of people. We had no Democrats aboard. »
The vote would have been 48-44, he continued, which would have been a « pretty impressive vote by any standard, » but it still would not have been enough.
« The way I look at it is in 2018 we’re going to have to get some more people elected, » said Trump. « We have to go out and we have to get more people elected that are Republican. And we have to probably pull in those people, those few people that voted against it. »
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