Trump Says He ‘Never Even Thought About’ Ending Obamacare—Despite Signing Measure Backing Its Repeal
Former President Donald Trump accused Vice President Kamala Harris of lying when she said he sought to end the Affordable Care Act, saying in a post on Truth Social on Thursday that he “never mentioned doing that, never even thought about such a thing”—despite the fact he took a number of steps when in office to repeal the act.
Former President Donald Trump called Vice President Kamala Harris a liar for saying he wanted to ... [+]
Harris said on MSNBC on Thursday that getting rid of the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, has been “part of Donald Trump's agenda for a very long time,” claiming “he has made dozens of attempts to get rid of” it.
Trump almost immediately responded on his social media platform, Truth Social, saying “everything that comes out of her mouth is a LIE. It’s MADE UP FICTION, and she’s doing it because she’s losing, and losing BIG!”
But, when he was president, Trump did take a number of steps to repeal the ACA, including signing an executive order in January 2017 that said “it is the policy of my Administration to seek the prompt repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” supporting a Republican congressional effort to overturn significant parts of the law including the individual mandate and the Justice Department under him asked the Supreme Court to overturn it in 2020.
Trump has recently misrepresented his support of repealing the act by saying when he “had a choice” as president to save it, improve it or “let it rot and let it go away,” he saved it.
Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.
“Among the stakes in this election are whether we continue with the Affordable Care Act, or not,” Harris said on MSNBC. “It has been a part of Donald Trump's agenda for a very long time—he has made dozens of attempts to get rid of the Affordable Care Act, and now we have further validation of that agenda from his supporter, the Speaker of the House.”
Concerns about Republicans working to end the Affordable Care Act resurfaced earlier this week after House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said the party would want “massive reform” and there would be “no Obamacare.” Johnson has since been trying to walk back the comment, telling Fox News the Harris campaign made “dishonest characterizations” about the comments and saying he “offered no such promise to end Obamacare.”
The Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010 under former President Barack Obama as a health care reform law that sought to make health insurance more affordable to more people, expand Medicaid coverage and “support innovative medical care delivery methods.” In the last decade nearly 50 million Americans have been covered through the ACA. Republicans have long opposed Obamacare, though, and sought to reform specific elements of it, like the requirement that all Americans have health insurance, and lessen the government’s role in healthcare. As recently as last November, Trump said the Affordable Care Act was “out of control” and that he was “seriously looking at alternatives” to it—though he walked back those comments this spring and said he was not “not running to terminate” it. Harris and Democrats have supported the ACA since its passing, and in her debate against Trump Harris said “what we need to do is maintain and grow the Affordable Care Act.”
62%. That’s the percentage of adults surveyed in April by KFF who said they had a favorable opinion of the Affordable Care