In response to Donald Trump saying he plans to get rid of the ACA entirely, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement:
“Donald Trump’s plan for the millions of Americans who rely on the Affordable Care Act? Rip away their health care access and strip protections for preexisting conditions — or in his words, get ‘rid of it entirely.’ It’s hard to imagine that Trump would run on such an out-of-touch platform after voters overwhelmingly rejected his MAGA agenda in 2020, but if Trump can’t take a hint, voters will just have to give him one at the ballot box next November.”
Trump is hellbent on “decimat[ing]” the protections of the Affordable Care Act — and now is planning on “getting rid of it entirely.”
“We’ve done a great job, but we’re going to be getting rid of it entirely.”
As Trump pledges to repeal the ACA in a second term, here’s a recap of some of the most egregious statements he’s made about killing the program:
Daily Beast: “Trump Revives Plan to Dismantle Obamacare if Elected in 2024”
NBC: “Trump, by contrast, stood by his support for a lawsuit headed to the Supreme Court that seeks to invalidate Obamacare. The justices will hear the case one week after Election Day.
“‘I would like to terminate Obamacare, come up with a brand new, beautiful health care,’ Trump said at the debate, which was moderated by NBC News’ Kristen Welker.”
Trump: “Obamacare is a disaster. And I said, ‘We’re gonna do something about it.’”
Trump: “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!”
Trump: “Andwhat we’d like to do is totally kill [the ACA].”
The Hill: “In a Truth Social post, the leading GOP presidential candidate claimed he’s ‘seriously looking at alternatives’ to replace ObamaCare, and that the failure to repeal the health law in 2017 while he was in office was ‘a low point for the Republican Party.’”
Trump does not care that the majority of Americans support access to affordable health care and protections for people with preexisting conditions.
Washington Post: “But what’s clear is that an effort to ‘terminate’ Obamacare is not something Americans are pining for. Not only were the GOP’s efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare during Trump’s term historically unpopular, but the law also appears to have gotten more popular since then. … And when politicians talk of ending health insurance for tens of millions of Americans, dropping coverage of preexisting conditions and cutting Obamacare’s Medicaid funding, things get even dicier.”
Reminder: Trump spent his entire presidency trying (and failing) to get rid of the ACA while making it harder for people to sign up for health care.
NPR: “The very day President Trump was sworn in — Jan. 20, 2017 — he signed an executive order instructing administration officials ‘to waive, defer, grant exemptions from, or delay’ implementing parts of the Affordable Care Act, while Congress got ready to repeal and replace President Obama’s signature health law.”
CNN: “Trump slashes funding that helps people sign up for Obamacare.”
NBC News: “Affirming its disdain for ‘Obamacare,’” the Trump administration on Thursday announced sharp cuts in programs promoting health care enrollment under the Affordable Care Act for next year.
“Advertising will be cut from $100 million spent on 2017 sign-ups to $10 million, said Health and Human Services officials. Funding for consumer helpers called ‘navigators’ will also be cut, from $62.5 million for 2017, to $36.8 million for next year.”
The Hill: “Insurance Experts: ObamaCare Mandate Repeal Driving Premium Increases.”
New York Times: “The Trump administration said Saturday that it was suspending a program that pays billions of dollars to insurers to stabilize health insurance markets under the Affordable Care Act, a freeze that could increase uncertainty in the markets and drive up premiums this fall.”
NBC News: “Trump approved a surprise decision to push for the complete elimination of the Affordable Care Act in the courts. If it succeeds, millions of Americans will lose their private insurance or Medicaid coverage and the health care system would be thrown into chaos.”
In response to a Trump ally pushing for “the January 6 movement” to be a part of the GOP convention just a day after reporting that Trump wants convicted felon Paul Manafort to help with the convention, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement:
“This year’s Republican National Convention is shaping up to be a giant stage for Donald Trump’s soft-on-crime agenda. From pushing pardons for violent insurrectionists to elevating convicted tax cheats and fraudsters like Paul Manafort, Trump’s GOP is quickly becoming the ideal spot for anyone convicted of a felony.”
January 6 lawyer and Trump ally Joseph McBride has made it clear he wants “the January 6 movement” to be a part of the Republican National Convention.
Semafor: “In early 2022, Joseph McBride, a lawyer for multiple January 6 defendants, went to Mar-a-Lago to speak with members of Trump’s team. Since that first meeting, McBride says he’s spoken with people across Trump’s orbit — even meeting with Trump’s legal team on occasion — and that January 6 events have grown organically over time.”
“McBride told Semafor he’d like the January 6 movement to have a presence at the Republican National Convention this summer.”
Despite Manafort’s multiple convictions for fraud, Donald Trump is pushing to bring him on to help run the Republican convention.
New York Times: “Paul Manafort, a top adviser to Donald J. Trump’s 2016 campaign who was pardoned by the former president at the end of his White House term, is in discussions to return to help with the Republican National Convention, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter.”
“Mr. Manafort was found guilty in late August 2018 of a range of financial crimes, including tax and bank fraud.
“In September 2018, Mr. Manafort pleaded guilty to additional charges brought by Mr. Mueller and agreed to cooperate. But as the case proceeded, Mr. Mueller said that Mr. Manafort had not been truthful in his cooperation, breaching that plea deal.”
Washington Post: “Former president Donald Trump is expected to enlist Paul Manafort, the former campaign manager he pardoned, as a campaign adviser later this year, according to four people familiar with the talks.
“The job discussions have largely centered around the 2024 Republican convention in Milwaukee in July and could include Manafort playing a role in fundraising for the presumptive GOP nominee’s campaign, according to these people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private deliberations. While no formal decision has been made, the four people described the hiring as expected and said Trump was determined to bring Manafort back into the fold.”
Manafort would join recent GOP hires like Christina Bobb, a self-described “conspiracy theorist” who had a role in the fake electors scheme.
CNN: “[Bobb] also played a key role in the Trump campaign’s fake electors scheme after he lost the 2020 election, working closely with Trump advisers to organize the plan in seven battleground states. The scheme formed the basis of parts of Smith’s election subversion indictment against the former president, which says Trump and his allies created ‘fraudulent slates of presidential electors to obstruct the certification proceeding’ in Congress on January 6, 2021, and ‘disenfranchise millions of voters.’”
CNN: “Bobb was also a correspondent during the 2020 election for the fringe pro-Trump network OAN, where she promoted false claims that the election was rigged. The voting technology company Dominion sued Bobb and OAN for defamation in 2021. Some of her on-air segments were also referenced in a separate defamation case against OAN filed by Smartmatic, another aggrieved voting company. OAN and Bobb have denied wrongdoing in these civil cases.”
New York Times: “A self-described conspiracy theorist and election denier, Ms. Bobb will take on a role overseeing Republican election integrity efforts — after years of aggressively promoting false claims about the 2020 election. Her appointment reflects the ascendant role of election deniers in Republican leadership and in Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign.”
As the RNC merges with the Trump campaign and continues their extreme MAGA rebrand, the roster of MAGA extremists and conspiracy theorists among their leadership only continues to grow.
New York Times: “Mr. Trump likes Mr. Whatley for one overwhelming reason, according to people who have discussed him with the former president: He is ‘a stop the steal guy,’ as one of the people described him. He endorses Mr. Trump’s false claims about mass voter fraud … Mr. Whatley has baselessly claimed that election security efforts from Republicans in North Carolina stopped Democrats from cheating.”
“Michael Whatley, the chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party, shared false claims that Republican observers were prevented from accessing polling locations and repeatedly said Democratic cities in swing states were engaged in ‘massive fraud.’”
In response to Donald Trump’s calls to “totally kill” the Affordable Care Act, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement:
“There’s no question that Donald Trump is serious about wanting to ‘totally kill’ the Affordable Care Act — just take a look at the last time he was in office. Not only did Trump repeatedly try to kill the law in Congress, but he also signed an executive order to stall ACA implementation, suspended a program to help stabilize insurance markets, and slashed funding designed to help people sign up for health care. Trump has made it clear: He will not stop until millions of hardworking Americans are kicked off of their health care — and voters won’t let that happen.”
WATCH: Donald Trump said his goal is to “totally kill” the ACA, which provides millions of Americans with the health care coverage they need.
Trump: “And what we’d like to do is totally kill [the ACA], but come up — before we do that — with something that’s great.”
As president, Trump repeatedly tried to undermine the ACA and make it harder for people to sign up for health care.
NPR: “The very day President Trump was sworn in — Jan. 20, 2017 — he signed an executive order instructing administration officials ‘to waive, defer, grant exemptions from, or delay’ implementing parts of the Affordable Care Act, while Congress got ready to repeal and replace President Obama’s signature health law.”
CNN: “Trump slashes funding that helps people sign up for Obamacare”
NBC News: “Affirming its disdain for ‘Obamacare,’ the Trump administration on Thursday announced sharp cuts in programs promoting health care enrollment under the Affordable Care Act for next year.
“Advertising will be cut from $100 million spent on 2017 sign-ups to $10 million, said Health and Human Services officials. Funding for consumer helpers called ‘navigators’ will also be cut, from $62.5 million for 2017, to $36.8 million for next year.”
New York Times: “The Trump administration said Saturday that it was suspending a program that pays billions of dollars to insurers to stabilize health insurance markets under the Affordable Care Act, a freeze that could increase uncertainty in the markets and drive up premiums this fall.”
NBC News: “Trump approved a surprise decision to push for the complete elimination of the Affordable Care Act in the courts. If it succeeds, millions of Americans will lose their private insurance or Medicaid coverage and the health care system would be thrown into chaos.”
Trump narrowly failed in his wildly unpopular plan to repeal the ACA and was unable to come up with any plans to replace this essential program.
The Guardian: “Trump claims ‘Obamacare is dead’ despite failure to repeal legislation”
The Hill: “Trump would not elaborate on how the plan would protect those with preexisting conditions. He claimed that ‘pieces’ of his plan had been released before, saying later that it ‘will’ be developed and suggesting that despite his assurances it has not been fully formed.”
ABC 11: “Trump says there’s ‘no very great rush’ to craft Republican health care alternative”
Trump: “And I’ve said from day one, the best thing I could do is let ObamaCare die and then come in with a plan.”
Trump (July 2020): “You heard me yesterday, we’re signing a health care plan within two weeks.”
New York Times: “President-elect Donald J. Trump demanded on Tuesday that Congress immediately repeal the Affordable Care Act and pass another health law quickly. His remarks put Republicans in the nearly impossible position of having only weeks to replace a health law that took nearly two years to pass.”
The Hill: “Trump health chief: ‘Not a need’ for ObamaCare replacement plan right now”
Even though the American people soundly rejected his MAGA agenda in 2020, Trump is STILL hellbent on ripping away affordable health care and jeopardizing protections for people with preexisting conditions.
Daily Beast: “Trump Revives Plan to Dismantle Obamacare if Elected in 2024”
NBC: “Trump, by contrast, stood by his support for a lawsuit headed to the Supreme Court that seeks to invalidate Obamacare. The justices will hear the case one week after Election Day.
“‘I would like to terminate Obamacare, come up with a brand new, beautiful health care,’ Trump said at the debate, which was moderated by NBC News’ Kristen Welker.”
The Hill: “In a Truth Social post, the leading GOP presidential candidate claimed he’s ‘seriously looking at alternatives’ to replace ObamaCare, and that the failure to repeal the health law in 2017 while he was in office was ‘a low point for the Republican Party.’”
Washington Post: “But what’s clear is that an effort to ‘terminate’ Obamacare is not something Americans are pining for. Not only were the GOP’s efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare during Trump’s term historically unpopular, but the law also appears to have gotten more popular since then. … And when politicians talk of ending health insurance for tens of millions of Americans, dropping coverage of preexisting conditions and cutting Obamacare’s Medicaid funding, things get even dicier.”
In response to Donald Trump’s plans to release a shortlist of his potential Supreme Court nominees, DNC spokesperson Aida Ross released the following statement:
“Here’s what to expect on Donald Trump’s shortlist of potential Supreme Court nominees: ultra-MAGA judicial extremists who will endanger our fundamental freedoms. Trump’s last Supreme Court picks ended up overturning Roe v. Wade, paving the way for Republicans to enact abortion bans across the country which are threatening life-saving health care and access to IVF. No matter who is on Trump’s list, voters see right through his attempts to stack the bench with his MAGA loyalists — and will reject him again in November all the same.”
After appointing three anti-choice justices to the bench during his first term, Trump wants to stack the Supreme Court with ultra-MAGA picks who will do his bidding.
Washington Times: “Former President Donald Trump is working on a new list of 20 potential picks for the Supreme Court should he be reelected in November, The Washington Times has learned.
“The move revives a strategy he used to help win over conservatives in the 2016 election, which led to his reshaping the high court and the federal judiciary more broadly.”
“‘I’m going to be putting together a list of judges — great judges — a list of about 20. I think it’s important to reveal who your Supreme Court justices will be,’ Mr. Trump told The Times on Tuesday. ‘There are people who say the list helped me win the election last time.’”
Trump: “And when I’m back in the White House, I will once again appoint rock-solid conservative judges in the mold of justices like Antonin Scalia and the great Clarence Thomas. … And before Election Day 2024, I will again release the full list of names from which I will select my appointments to the United States Supreme Court.”
Politico: “Trump has made clear he expects unfleeting loyalty from the judges he appointed, referring to them as ‘my judges’ and grousing publicly when they ruled against his administration. ‘If it’s my judges, you know how they’re gonna decide,’ Trump assured evangelical leaders during the 2016 campaign.”
Trump brags about how the Supreme Court justices he appointed overturned Roe v. Wade, paving the way for MAGA extremists to pass abortion bans across the country and rip away reproductive freedoms.
CNBC: “Former President Donald Trump called Friday’s Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade ‘the biggest WIN for LIFE in a generation’ — and gave himself credit for the outcome in the controversial decision to undo federal abortion rights.”
“Trump, in a statement, said Friday’s ruling and other recent court decisions ‘were only made possible because I delivered everything as promised, including nominating and getting three highly respected and strong Constitutionalists confirmed to the United States Supreme Court.’”
Trump: “I’m the one that got rid of Roe v. Wade, and everybody said that was an impossible thing to do. I put on three Supreme Court justices. Very few people have had that privilege or honor.”
Trump campaign radio ad: “And Trump nominated conservative judges, leading to Roe v. Wade being overturned.”
Trump: “After 50 years of failure, with nobody coming even close, I was able to kill Roe v. Wade, much to the ‘shock’ of everyone … Without me there would be no 6 weeks, 10 weeks, 15 weeks, or whatever is finally agreed to. Without me the pro Life movement would have just kept losing. Thank you President TRUMP!!!”
Business Insider: “Trump boasts he’s ‘proud’ about his role in overturning Roe v. Wade, the issue that has become ballot-box poison for Republicans”
Rolling Stone: “Trump Says He’s ‘Proud’ to Have ‘Terminated’ Abortion Rights”
Trump also wants to appoint extremist judges to courts across the country and put fundamental freedoms at risk — just like he brags about doing in his first term.
Trump: “We appointed nearly 300 federal judges and three great Supreme Court justices. Gotten some great rulings. Oh, they would go crazy every time they saw me appointing a Supreme Court judge.” [VIDEO]
Trump: “I promised to appoint true conservative justices to the United States Supreme Court and I did that, three of them. And over 300 federal judges. The whole court system is different.” [VIDEO]
NBC: “The decision by a Trump-appointed federal judge in Texas could upend access nationwide to the standard two-pill regimen for medication abortions.”
CNN: “A Trump-appointed judge dealt another blow to Biden’s climate agenda on Friday, barring the administration from using a metric that estimates the societal cost of carbon emissions.”
“This is not the first time a Trump-appointed judge has dealt a blow to the Biden administration’s climate goals. In June, another federal judge in Louisiana blocked Biden’s temporary pause on new oil and gas leasing on federal lands – saying Biden had exceeded his authority.”
In response to Lauren Boebert praising funding delivered by President Biden and Democrats that she voted against AGAIN, DNC Regional Press Secretary Stephanie Justice released the following statement:
“Lauren Boebert has tried to take credit for the achievements President Biden and Democrats have delivered for Coloradans so many times you might wonder why she keeps voting against the bills since she supports the president’s agenda so much. But whether it’s Boebert or Donald Trump, MAGA Republicans refuse to put their extreme politics aside to actually fight for the working families President Biden and Democrats do every day. No matter how many times Boebert attempts to lie to her constituents, President Biden and Democrats are the only ones delivering real results for Colorado families and the American people.”
Boebert voted against the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and called it “wasteful” and “garbage” – yet requested federal funding for a transportation project afterward.
Rep. Boebert: “RINOS just passed this wasteful $1.2 trillion dollar “infrastructure” bill.
Pelosi did not have the votes in her party to pass this garbage.
Time to name names and hold these fake republicans accountable.”
Business Insider: “Rep. Lauren Boebert is asking for $33.1 million in federal funding for a transportation project after voting against Biden’s infrastructure bill, calling it ‘wasteful’ and ‘garbage.’
“On Monday, Boebert sent a letter to US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg strongly supporting the South Bridge Project in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.”
Boebert called for investments in American infrastructure after voting against the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Vanity Fair: “The hypocrisy isn’t limited to those taking undue credit for the infrastructure law; there’s also Lauren Boebert, who lamented the nation’s infrastructure issues this week, despite having voted against legislation to address them.”
Rep. Boebert: “We’re sending our money all over the world but our own country is falling down around us.”
This isn’t the first time that Boebert has attempted to take credit for President Biden’s accomplishments after lambasting them. Or the second. Or the third.
Rep. Boebert: “Last year, the Democrats disgracefully would title a bill one way and then load it with a bunch of garbage that had nothing to do with the title, like the shameful infrastructure bill, $1.2 trillion where less than 10% went toward actual infrastructure, or what about the Inflation Reduction Act? AKA the Green New Deal.”
Rep. Boebert: “The so-called ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ needs to be repealed when Republicans take back the House.”
Business Insider: “Earlier this month, Rep. Lauren Boebert voted against a must-pass government funding bill that contained more than $20 million for the Colorado district she’s now abandoning.
“On Monday night, she celebrated the impending arrival of that funding anyway.”
The Hill: “[President Biden] added that Boebert, ‘along with every other Republican, voted against this bill — and it’s making all this possible. And she railed against its passage. But, that’s OK, she’s welcoming it now.’”
Approaching the anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, DNC spokesperson Aida Ross released the following statement:
“Donald Trump’s pledge to ‘terminate’ the Affordable Care Act could strip protections from over 100 million Americans with preexisting conditions, but Trump doesn’t care – he only thinks about himself. Trump’s extreme MAGA health care agenda is unpopular across the political spectrum for good reason: Almost half of nonelderly Americans could get hit with higher costs, face discrimination from insurers, or be left without coverage at all. The American people have rejected Trump and MAGA Republicans’ attempts to take away their health care time and time again, and this November will be no different – voters understand that their health is on the line.”
Donald Trump’s goal of repealing the Affordable Care Act could rip away critical protections from more than 100 million Americans.
HuffPost: “Donald Trump says he is still interested in repealing the Affordable Care Act, which means health care for tens of millions of people would be in jeopardy if he becomes president again next year. Trump said Saturday on his website Truth Social that he was ‘looking at alternatives’ to the 2010 health care law, also known as ‘Obamacare,’ which has reduced the number of Americans without health insurance to historic lows and established basic guarantees of coverage for all Americans regardless of pre-existing conditions.”
Spectrum News: “The ACA protects more than 100 million people with preexisting conditions from being denied care, plus it requires insurance plans to cover things like preventive care and limit out-of-pocket costs.”
Jon Favreau: “If Trump wins, 40 million people could lose their health care, and insurance companies would get to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. If Biden wins, that…won’t happen.”
Americans across the political spectrum think it’s “very important” to continue the ACA’s protections for people with preexisting conditions.
The Hill: “Majority of Americans don’t want preexisting condition protections eliminated: poll”
“Even among Republicans, 66 percent of respondents said they did not want to see the preexisting condition protections overturned. Overall, the poll showed 79 percent of respondents do not want the court to cancel coverage protections for Americans with preexisting conditions.”
KFF Poll: “Majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and independents say it is ‘very important’ to continue each of [the Affordable Care Act’s] protections for people with pre-existing conditions.”
Millions of Americans under 65 have a preexisting condition that could force them to face higher costs or be denied coverage altogether if they sought coverage in the individual market without the Affordable Care Act’s protections.
Center For American Progress: “According to new estimates from the Center for American Progress, 135 million people under age 65, or about half of nonelderly people, have a preexisting condition that an insurer could use to discriminate against them if they ever sought coverage through the individual market in the absence of ACA protections.”
KFF: “People with pre-existing health conditions were often denied coverage or charged higher premiums for individual market coverage before the ACA took effect in 2014.”
More than 50 million people have a preexisting health condition that would likely have made them uninsurable in the individual health care markets before the Affordable Care Act.
KFF: “An updated KFF analysis estimates that almost 54 million people – or 27% of all adults under 65 —have pre-existing health conditions that would likely have made them uninsurable in the individual markets that existed in most states before the Affordable Care Act.”
Trump is still hellbent on repealing the ACA and ripping away access to affordable care from millions of Americans.
Daily Beast: “Trump Revives Plan to Dismantle Obamacare if Elected in 2024”
Mediaite: “‘OBAMACARE SUCKS!!!’ Trump Rants About New Plan — Years After He Promised It Was ‘Two Weeks’ Away”
Trump: “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!”
Trump: “Obamacare is a disaster. And I said, ‘We’re gonna do something about it.’”
When he was in office, Trump came up just one vote short in Congress from achieving his goal of repealing the Affordable Care Act.
The Hill: “On the campaign trail, Trump has doubled down on his promise to repeal the ACA, a feat he fell one vote short of in 2017.”
Trump: “I will get health care. I’m one vote short of health care. I’ll get health care.”
Reuters: “The most previous attempt to repeal Obamacare fell one vote short in July, in a humiliating setback for Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.”
Trump and MAGA Republicans’ plan to rip away Americans’ health care is overwhelmingly unpopular among voters.
Politico: “Obamacare is even more popular than the last time Trump tried to kill it”
“Roughly three-in-five Americans like the 2010 health care law, even more than when Trump and Republicans in Congress came to the brink of wiping it out. And some of the Affordable Care Act’s better-known provisions — like protections for preexisting health conditions — engender even greater support.”
“[Trump] did more than pick at an electoral scab that party strategists hoped had healed by now. He threatened to bring back to life a potent electoral issue that contributed significantly to the GOP’s wipeout in the 2018 midterms and on which public opinion has only moved away from Republicans since.”
Washington Post: “But what’s clear is that an effort to ‘terminate’ Obamacare is not something Americans are pining for. Not only were the GOP’s efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare during Trump’s term historically unpopular, but the law also appears to have gotten more popular since then. … And when politicians talk of ending health insurance for tens of millions of Americans, dropping coverage of preexisting conditions and cutting Obamacare’s Medicaid funding, things get even dicier.”
CNN: “Obamacare has gotten popular. Trump doesn’t care”
Axios: “A new KFF poll underscores why former President Trump reigniting conversation about repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act was probably a bad idea politically … Only 32% of Republican respondents said they think the future of the ACA is a very important issue for 2024 presidential candidates to talk about.”
KFF Poll: “64% believe it is “very important” insurance companies continue to be prohibited from charging sick people more – including 55% of Republicans.”
NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll: “Thirteen years after the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, more than eight in ten Americans (83%) either agree or strongly agree that all Americans have a basic right to healthcare coverage.”
Bryan Bennett: “Per our October @NavigatorSurvey research, repealing the ACA (and January 6) remain the top concerns about Trump’s first term as president”
In response to RNC Chair Michael Whatley asking voters if they are better off today than four years ago during the toilet paper shortages and skyrocketing unemployment of the early COVID crisis, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement:
“Yes.”
Four years ago, Donald Trump was already failing in the country’s coronavirus response and refusing to take any responsibility for massive testing delays.
Business Insider: “’I don’t take responsibility’: Trump says he’s not to blame for persistent delays in coronavirus testing from the CDC”
“The US was far slower to produce test kits through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention than other countries, creating ongoing delays in getting the tests to state-level public-health authorities and healthcare providers.”
“Not only has the US tested far fewer of its citizens per capita than other developed countries, but doctors and patients have also expressed frustration at US patients not meeting the CDC guidelines for testing or being able to get a test despite showing symptoms consistent with COVID-19.”
Associated Press: “Trump disbanded NSC pandemic unit that experts had praised”
“Public health and national security experts shake their heads when President Donald Trump says the coronavirus ‘came out of nowhere’ and ‘blindsided the world.’
“They’ve been warning about the next pandemic for years and criticized the Trump administration’s decision in 2018 to dismantle a National Security Council directorate at the White House charged with preparing for when, not if, another pandemic would hit the nation.
“‘It would be nice if the office was still there,’ Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institute of Health, told Congress this week.”
Trump also began touting unproven COVID treatments like hydroxychloroquine as the crisis grew, which potentially resulted in the deaths of thousands who used these treatments.
Bloomberg: “Trump Touts Drug That FDA Says Isn’t Yet Approved for Virus”
Politico: “Hydroxychloroquine could have caused 17,000 deaths during Covid, study finds”
“Nearly 17,000 people may have died after taking hydroxychloroquine during the first wave of Covid-19, according to a study by French researchers.”
Meanwhile, the stock market was in free fall and unemployment was soaring as families struggled to find basic goods like toilet paper.
CNBC: “Dow drops nearly 3,000 points, as coronavirus collapse continues; worst day since ’87”
“Stocks fell sharply Monday — with the Dow suffering its worst day since the ‘Black Monday’ market crash in 1987 and its third-worst day ever — even after the Federal Reserve embarked on a massive monetary stimulus campaign to curb slower economic growth amid the coronavirus outbreak.
“The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 2,997.10 points lower, or 12.9%, at 20,188.52. The 30-stock Dow was briefly down more than 3,000 points in the final minutes of trading. The S&P 500 dropped 12% to 2,386.13 — hitting its lowest level since December 2018 — while the Nasdaq Composite closed 12.3% lower at 6,904.59 in its worst day ever.
“‘The markets are getting no break with yesterday’s historic Fed actions and COVID-19 dominating the world’s headlines,’ Frank Cappelleri, executive director at Instinet, said in a note. ‘While the news continues to worsen and with the price action doing things we’ve only seen a handful of other times in the last century, it’s nearly impossible to keep things in perspective.’”
CNBC: “Coronavirus: State unemployment websites crash as applications surge”
“Workers who have suddenly found themselves without a paycheck because of the growing coronavirus pandemic in the United States are now dealing with another frustration — state unemployment websites crashing because of high traffic.”
New York Times: “Coronavirus Cost to Businesses and Workers: ‘It Has All Gone to Hell’”
“Not since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has a crisis enveloped so much of the economy so quickly. Broadway is dark. The college basketball tournaments are canceled and professional sports are on indefinite hold. Conferences, concerts and St. Patrick’s Day parades have been called off or postponed. Even Disneyland — which stayed open through a recession a decade ago that wiped out millions of American jobs and trillions of dollars in wealth — is shuttered.
“‘This hits the heart of the economy, and it hits the economy on all sides,’ said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton. ‘It’s not just that we’re slowing down things. We’re actually hitting the pause button, and there is no precedent, there is no mold for that.’”
BDN: “If you run out of toilet paper, here’s what you can use instead”
“With the novel coronavirus reaching pandemic levels, everyone has been stockpiling for the Centers for Disease Control’s recommended social distancing, self-isolation and self-quarantine, which could last for several weeks. That’s led to stores running out of products like hand sanitizer, hand soap and toilet paper.
“Hopefully, you have enough toilet paper or flushable wipes to last your family for the next few weeks.”
While President Biden has helped create nearly 15 million new jobs, Trump had the worst jobs record since Herbert Hoover – and job growth had slowed even before the pandemic.
Fortune: “Trump to leave office with the worst jobs record since Herbert Hoover”
Washington Post: “President Trump took office at the crest of the longest economic expansion in U.S. history. He leaves presiding over the worst labor market in modern U.S. history, as an already-sputtering economic recovery has turned negative.”
Bloomberg: “Trump’s Jobs Record Fell Short of Promises Even Before the Virus”
Bloomberg: “Job growth was slightly slower in Trump’s first three years before Covid than it was during the last three years of the Obama administration, when the economy added 2.7 million jobs a year on average. Under Trump, that average was 2.2 million, until this year’s tumult more than wiped out the gains.”
For 14 years, the Affordable Care Act has empowered millions of Americans to receive low-cost, quality health care coverage. A record-breaking number of Americans have enrolled in health insurance plans through the ACA marketplace under President Biden and Vice President Harris – a testament to their strong leadership as they continue to fulfill their promise to improve access to care, expand coverage options, and make health care more affordable. Meanwhile, Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans continue to threaten to dismantle the ACA, putting health care coverage at risk for millions of Americans – including Black Americans, who are disproportionately at risk of having their health care ripped away.
DNC Director of Outreach Communications Tracy King released the following statement:
“President Biden and Vice President Harris are fighting every day to bring down the cost of health care and expand coverage for all Americans, particularly for the Black families who have for too long faced barriers to high-quality health care. The Biden-Harris administration is keeping their promises to Black voters and delivering real wins: expanding coverage under the Affordable Care Act, stopping insurance companies from overcharging patients with preexisting conditions, and mandating that insurers cover essential benefits such as prescription drugs, mental health treatment, and hospitalization fees. After the rate of Black Americans without health insurance skyrocketed under Donald Trump and he tried to cut Medicaid and Medicare in every single one of his budgets, he is now doubling down on his second-term plans to rip the Affordable Care Act away from us. As we mark the anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, it’s clearer than ever that our health care is on the ballot this November.”
President Biden continues to make historic gains in health insurance coverage for Black Americans, with millions gaining health care during his administration.
CNN: “Obamacare sign-ups hit record 21.3 million as Biden pushes his efforts to lower health care costs”
“Nearly 5 million more people signed up for Obamacare policies for this year compared with last year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees the Affordable Care Act marketplaces, said Wednesday. Notably, about a quarter of people selecting plans were new consumers.”
The Hill: “Biden touts Affordable Care Act enrollment spike”
“The White House is reporting strong enrollment numbers through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) one week after enrollment began, with 300,000 new customers signing up for plans already.”
Washington Post: “ACA linked to reduced racial disparities, earlier diagnosis and treatment in cancer care”
AARP: “ACA Has Led to More African Americans Getting Health Insurance”
“The number of Black Americans under age 65 without health insurance has dropped by 40 percent since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), according to a new report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“In 2011 about 7.1 million African Americans lacked coverage, but by 2019 that number had dropped to 4.4 million, according to the report by researchers in HHS’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE).”
President Biden capped the price of insulin at $35 for seniors on Medicare, drastically lowering prices for the roughly 38 percent of Black Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes.
The Root: “Here’s How Biden’s Inflation Act Helps Black Americans With Diabetes”
“Over five million Black Americans live with diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. Roughly 19 percent of all African Americans in the United States over 20 years old have diabetes, compared to just 7 percent of all white Americans.”
“This could be a huge improvement for many Black Medicare recipients who receive drug coverage and also take insulin. As of 2011, roughly 38 percent of Black Medicare beneficiaries had diabetes, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. And nearly a third of Black Medicare beneficiaries reported health care cost-related problems in 2018.”
“Congress, the White House and new players in the market have increased pressure on insulin manufacturers to lower their prices. Eli Lilly and Sanofi announced that they would institute $35 caps shortly after President Joe Biden called on drugmakers to do so in his State of the Union address last year.”
Black Americans disproportionately benefit from the ACA’s protections for people with preexisting conditions.
KFF: “Moreover, the long history of inequitable health outcomes among Black people reflects the abuses faced during slavery, segregation, mass incarceration and their persistent legacies.”
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: “African Americans live with chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and HIV/AIDS at far greater rates than other racial groups.”
Dept. of Health and Human Services: “Under the Affordable Care Act, health insurance companies can’t refuse to cover you or charge you more just because you have a ‘pre-existing condition’ — that is, a health problem you had before the date that new health coverage starts. They also can’t charge women more than men.”
The Affordable Care Act is reducing racial disparities in childbirth, helping to curtail the Black maternal health crisis.
White House Fact Sheet: “Within just a few years of the Affordable Care Act’s passage, Black uninsured rates dramatically declined — a key factor in ensuring better maternal health outcomes — as did the persistent health insurance coverage gap between Black and white Americans, which fell by more than 40 percent in the wake of the law’s implementation.”
NBC News: “In December, Vice President Kamala Harris hosted the first federal Maternal Health Day of Action at the White House, where she issued a call to improve health outcomes for parents and infants in the U.S. Months later, she is still using the vice presidential bully pulpit to push for policy and structural changes aimed at saving lives.
“‘In our nation, we are looking at the fact that more women are facing death because of childbirth than in any other developed nation,’ Harris told journalists during a call on Thursday during Black Maternal Health Week. ‘We are looking at the likelihood that Black women are three times more likely to die in connection with childbirth, that Native women are twice as likely to die, that rural women are one and a half times more likely to die.’
“Black Maternal Health Week is an education and advocacy campaign founded and led by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance that is observed each April. The White House officially recognized the designated week in 2021, and President Joe Biden issued a proclamation for it this year.”
Spectrum News: “The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are working with 11 states, plus Washington, D.C., to expand postpartum coverage for new mothers to a full year after they give birth.”
“Should the efforts be successful, up to 720,000 people could benefit from guaranteed Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program coverage for 12 months after birth. Typically, mothers are covered for a minimum of 60 days after birth.”
Donald Trump wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act, even though the ACA cut the Black uninsured rate nearly in half.
TheGrio: “Trump ‘coming for’ Black America’s health care with Obamacare vow”
“Former President Donald Trump is vowing yet again to repeal the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, which would have devastating impacts on Black communities and their access to affordable and quality health insurance.
“On his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump, the leading 2024 Republican presidential candidate, wrote that he is ‘seriously looking at alternatives’ to Obamacare, which he argued is too costly.”
CNN: “Obamacare has gotten popular. Trump doesn’t care”
New York Magazine: “Why a Second Trump Presidency Might Try Again to Repeal Obamacare”
KFF: “2016-2018: The number of uninsured Black Americans increased by nearly 300,000 during the first two years of Trump’s administration, which marked the first increase in the Black uninsured rate since 2013.”
Over a third of uninsured Black Americans reside in MAGA Republican-controlled states that refuse to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.
NPR: “Just 10 states have not expanded Medicaid – mostly in the South, where Republicans dominate state legislatures.”
Washington Post: “About 37 percent of Black Americans who are uninsured live in three states: Florida, Georgia and Texas. Florida and Georgia, according to the report, have high numbers of uninsured Black children.”
Black women are disproportionately suffering the consequences of Trump’s actions to rip away abortion rights – and he is promising to go even further with a national abortion ban in a second term.
Texas Tribune: “Facing higher teen pregnancy and maternal mortality rates, Black women will largely bear the brunt of abortion limits”
Vox: “The United States is now a country without a legal right to an abortion. In this new reality, Black women will suffer the most.
“Black women are more likely to live in areas where it’s harder to access contraception.”
“For centuries, Black women have fought for autonomy over their bodies, against government-sanctioned abuse and abuse from intimate partners. The end of a constitutional right to legal abortion makes the fight harder.”
Approaching the anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, DNC spokesperson Aida Ross released the following statement:
“If you want to know what Donald Trump is plotting for a second term, just take a look at his record: Trump proposed hundreds of billions in cuts to Medicaid every single year he was in office as he pushed to deprive millions of hardworking Americans and even children of affordable health care by ending the ACA’s Medicaid expansion. Trump’s MAGA health care agenda is extreme and unpopular — and the American people will once again reject it at the ballot box, just like they did the last time Trump tried to gut Medicaid.”
Donald Trump proposed HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS in cuts to Medicaid every year he was in office as he tried to rip away affordable health care from hard working Americans and even children.
In his FY18, FY19, FY20, and FY21 budgets, Trump repeatedly proposed hundreds of billions in cuts to Medicaid.
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: “President Trump has made clear that his goal remains to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including its expansion of Medicaid to low-income adults, and to impose rigid caps on the federal government’s Medicaid spending.”
ProPublica: “The Trump Administration Cracked Down on Medicaid. Kids Lost Insurance.”
Los Angeles Times: “Rebuffed by the courts in its previous efforts to gut Medicaid, the Trump administration teed up a new, far-reaching attack on the program that could affect the health of millions of low-income Americans.”
New York Times: “The Trump administration said on Thursday that it would allow states to cap Medicaid spending for many poor adults, a major shift long sought by conservatives that gives states the option of reducing health benefits for millions who gained coverage through the program under the Affordable Care Act.”
CBS News: “Trump administration to withhold Medicaid funding from California over abortion insurance requirement”
MAGA Republicans are now rooting for Trump to regain power so he can continue attempting to gut Medicaid.
Politico: “Red states hopeful for a 2nd Trump term prepare to curtail Medicaid”
“Their plans, if approved by a Trump White House, could cut hundreds of thousands of people from a program that conservatives have long complained is bloated.”
If extreme MAGA Republicans quit their crusade against providing hardworking Americans with affordable health care, Medicaid expansion could benefit up to 2.9 million more Americans.
KFF: “If all states adopted the Medicaid expansion, approximately 2.9 million uninsured adults would become newly eligible for Medicaid. This number includes the 1.5 million adults in the coverage gap and an additional 1.4 million uninsured adults with incomes between 100% and 138% FPL, most of whom are currently eligible for Marketplace coverage but not enrolled (Figure 7 and Table 1). Most of the adults who are currently eligible for coverage in the Marketplace qualify for plans with zero premiums; however, even with no premiums, Medicaid could provide more comprehensive benefits and lower cost-sharing compared to Marketplace coverage.”
Medicaid expansion is supported by Americans across the political spectrum —including in states that have not expanded their Medicaid programs.
Data for Progress: “Voters Oppose Funding Cuts for Federal Programs, Including Medicaid”
“Nearly half of all voters want to increase funding for Medicaid, and 89 percent believe that funding for the program should either be increased or remain the same. In contrast, only 7 percent of voters believe that Medicaid funding should be cut.”
“Among likely voters who live in states without Medicaid expansion, 65 percent support implementing Medicaid expansion in their state. This includes 85 percent of Democrats, 65 percent of Independents, and a majority of Republicans.”
KFF: “A majority of Democrats (89%), independents (75%), and Republicans (65%) hold positive views of Medicaid, the federal-state government health insurance for certain low-income adults and children. In addition to viewing the program favorably, most Americans say the current Medicaid program is working well for most low-income people covered by the program. More than two-thirds of the public overall (69%) say the program is working well as do large majorities of independents (63%), Republicans (69%), and Democrats (76%).”
KFF: “Two-thirds of the people living in states that have not expanded their Medicaid programs under the Affordable Care Act to cover more low-income adults say they want to see their Medicaid programs expand. This is nearly twice the share who say they want the program to stay as it is today (34%).”
Meanwhile, MAGA Republican governors refuse to expand Medicaid — keeping anywhere between tens of thousands to over a million of their constituents from accessing affordable health care.
KFF: In Alabama, 174,000 uninsured nonelderly adults would become eligible for Medicaid.
KFF: In Florida, 570,000 uninsured nonelderly adults would become eligible for Medicaid.
KFF: And 29% of the uninsured Floridians who would be covered if Florida expanded Medicaid are Hispanic.
KFF: In Georgia, 359,000 uninsured nonelderly adults would become eligible for Medicaid.
KFF: In Mississippi, 123,000 uninsured nonelderly adults would become eligible for Medicaid.
KFF: In South Carolina, 141,000 uninsured nonelderly adults would become eligible for Medicaid.
KFF: In Tennessee, 194,000 uninsured nonelderly adults would become eligible for Medicaid.
KFF: In Texas, 1,214,000 uninsured nonelderly adults would become eligible for Medicaid.
KFF: In Wyoming, 20,000 uninsured nonelderly adults would become eligible for Medicaid.
Trump and MAGA Republicans’ plan to rip away Americans’ health care is overwhelmingly unpopular among voters.
Politico: “Obamacare is even more popular than the last time Trump tried to kill it”
“Roughly three-in-five Americans like the 2010 health care law, even more than when Trump and Republicans in Congress came to the brink of wiping it out. And some of the Affordable Care Act’s better-known provisions — like protections for preexisting health conditions — engender even greater support.”
“[Trump] did more than pick at an electoral scab that party strategists hoped had healed by now. He threatened to bring back to life a potent electoral issue that contributed significantly to the GOP’s wipeout in the 2018 midterms and on which public opinion has only moved away from Republicans since.”
Washington Post: “But what’s clear is that an effort to ‘terminate’ Obamacare is not something Americans are pining for. Not only were the GOP’s efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare during Trump’s term historically unpopular, but the law also appears to have gotten more popular since then. … And when politicians talk of ending health insurance for tens of millions of Americans, dropping coverage of preexisting conditions and cutting Obamacare’s Medicaid funding, things get even dicier.”
CNN: “Obamacare has gotten popular. Trump doesn’t care”
Axios: “A new KFF poll underscores why former President Trump reigniting conversation about repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act was probably a bad idea politically … Only 32% of Republican respondents said they think the future of the ACA is a very important issue for 2024 presidential candidates to talk about.”
KFF Poll: 64% believe it is “very important” insurance companies continue to be prohibited from charging sick people more – including 51% of Republicans.
NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll: “Thirteen years after the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, more than eight in ten Americans (83%) either agree or strongly agree that all Americans have a basic right to healthcare coverage.”
Bryan Bennett: “Per our October @NavigatorSurvey research, repealing the ACA (and January 6) remain the top concerns about Trump’s first term as president”
In response to Donald Trump calling the Affordable Care Act a “disaster,” DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement:
“When Donald Trump calls the Affordable Care Act a ‘disaster,’ here’s what he really means: It’s a disaster that millions of Americans have access to affordable health care. To be clear, ripping away health care access and stripping protections for people with preexisting conditions is wildly unpopular — which Trump should know, considering he already tried and failed to run on that platform in 2020. Trump is out of touch with the American people, and voters will remind him just how much they oppose his MAGA agenda this November.”
WATCH: Donald Trump called the ACA — which is a lifeline for millions of Americans — a disaster.
Trump: “Obamacare is a disaster. And I said, ‘We’re gonna do something about it.’”
Trump has made his agenda crystal clear: If elected to a second term, he’d try to repeal the ACA.
Daily Beast: “Trump Revives Plan to Dismantle Obamacare if Elected in 2024”
The Hill: “In a Truth Social post, the leading GOP presidential candidate claimed he’s ‘seriously looking at alternatives’ to replace ObamaCare, and that the failure to repeal the health law in 2017 while he was in office was ‘a low point for the Republican Party.’”
Mediaite: “‘OBAMACARE SUCKS!!!’ Trump Rants About New Plan — Years After He Promised It Was ‘Two Weeks’ Away”
As a reminder, Trump’s deeply unpopular plan could rip away access to health care from millions of Americans, including protections for 100 million people with preexisting conditions.
Washington Post: “But what’s clear is that an effort to ‘terminate’ Obamacare is not something Americans are pining for. Not only were the GOP’s efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare during Trump’s term historically unpopular, but the law also appears to have gotten more popular since then. … And when politicians talk of ending health insurance for tens of millions of Americans, dropping coverage of preexisting conditions and cutting Obamacare’s Medicaid funding, things get even dicier.”
Washington Post: “More than 21 million people have signed up for health plans through the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplaces, the Biden administration announced Wednesday. The record level of enrollment comes as former president Donald Trump, seeking the GOP nomination, is again vowing to repeal the program if elected.”
Center for American Progress: “According to new estimates from the Center for American Progress, 135 million people under age 65, or about half of nonelderly people, have a preexisting condition that an insurer could use to discriminate against them if they ever sought coverage through the individual market in the absence of ACA protections.”
KFF Poll: “Majorities of Democrats [88%], Republicans [62%], and independents [73%] say it is ‘very important’ to continue each of [the Affordable Care Act’s] protections for people with pre-existing conditions.”
Jon Favreau: “If Trump wins, 40 million people could lose their health care, and insurance companies would get to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. If Biden wins, that…won’t happen.”
As Trump rails against affordable health care on the campaign trail, his MAGA minions are doing his bidding in Congress, reviving attempts to repeal the ACA.
Dana Bash, CNN: “Let’s talk about the 2024 campaign trail. Donald Trump called Obamacare a disaster last night in Iowa after reiterating his calls to repeal it. You of course voted to repeal Obamacare when Trump was president. Do you think that this is a winning issue right now? Would you like to see another vote again?
Graham: “Yeah. Good question. This is what we tried to do when Trump was president. Let’s block grant the money.”
Axios: “‘I think Obamacare has been one of the biggest deceptions on the American people,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). ‘I mean just look at your health care premiums.’ But he added he would ‘be interested to hear exactly how’ Trump would approach repeal.”
“Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), who’s in line to run the Finance Committee if the GOP retakes the Senate, said he’s open to plans that were similar to the 2017 repeal and replace bills.”
