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Fact Check: Fess up, Trump. You promised – at least 4 times – to repeal Obamacare immediately

Sometime Friday last week, Donald Trump pulled the health care bill, christened the American Health Care Act, which he and the Republican party had been working on since he took office. This was done after Paul Ryan realised that they would not have sufficient votes, even within the Republican majority to pass the bill.

They were factions within the Republican majority, e.g Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative Republican congressmen, which withheld their support for the bill, despite last-minute concessions by Mr Trump. It certainly did not help that Mr Art of the Deal had earlier on tried to arm twist  Republicans by saying they must pass the bill on Friday or get ready to be stuck with Obamacare.

Seven years of bashing Obamacare and threatening to obliterate it died a shameful death that Friday afternoon.

In what can only be described as a face-saving ploy, Donald Trump told reporters that the Democrats were to blame for him pulling the bill because they did not support the bill. He also said that “You’ve all heard my speeches,” he said. “I never said ‘repeal it and replace it within 64 days.’ I have a long time. But I want to have a great health care bill and plan—and we will and it will happen.”

Well, Trump successfully blamed the wrong group and skirted the truth.

i. The Democrats are not to blame for the deal bill falling through

For one, “Democrats have been united in their opposition since the beginning of the fight to repeal and replace the health law. But Republicans did not need Democratic support to pass their legislation. Republicans needed 215 votes in the House to pass the bill. They have 237 out of the 435 seats, meaning they could afford only 22 party defections. Before the bill was pulled, 33 Republicans were opposed.

In actuality, the Freedom Caucus and the Tuesday Group of the Republican majority was where the battle was lost. The Freedom Caucus was opposed to the bill, and some members of the Tuesday group withdrew their support after they found out that the bill would increase the number of people without insurance by 24 million by 2026. Also, some Republicans were frustrated that Trump’s bill would repeal the essential health benefits provision. This would have meant that insurers could choose to exclude some of the priciest services that sick Americans with pre-existing conditions suffered from.

Basically, Trump’s house was divided against itself and so fell yakata.

 

ii. Trump is on record 68 times for saying that once in office, he will repeal Obamacare.

Out of those 68 times when Trump promised to repeal Obamacare, at least four times he said he would repeal it ‘immediately. In some cases, he said he would begin work on it in ‘from day one’. Donald Trump so prioritised repealing Obamacare, his favourite tagline was “repeal and replace”. He boasted a good number of times of how easy it would be for him to “repeal and replace” Obamacare.

Alas, Congress showed him.

Do see below some examples of Trump promising the American people that he would repeal Obamacare.

Trump speaking with CBS 60 Minutes host, Scott Pelley

This was in Sanford, Florida

Campaign website, March 2016: “On day one of the Trump Administration, we will ask Congress to immediately deliver a full repeal of Obamacare.”

Campaign website, August 2016: “One of my first acts as President will be to repeal and replace disastrous Obamacare, saving another 2 million American jobs.”

Rally in Ohio, September 2016: “On my first day I’m going to ask Congress to immediately send me a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare.”

At a speech in St. Augustine, Florida on Oct. 24, he vowed to repeal the current health care law as a part of his “contract with the American voter.”

“It’s a set of promises for what I’ll do in my first 100 days. It includes getting rid of immediately Obamacare, which is a disaster,” said Trump.

“When we win on November 8th and elect a Republican Congress, we will be able to immediately repeal and replace Obamacare.”

After he pulled the bill, Trump tweeted this:

But Tomi Lahren, conservative mouthpiece and host of The Blaze (although now suspended) wasn’t having it.

Trump’s blame game

Any wonder Twitter came out knives swinging.

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