Former President Donald Trump marked Christmas in part with a message on Truth Social threatening the currently established health care coverage for tens of millions of Americans — specifically, the Americans covered by Obamacare, otherwise known as the Affordable Care Act.
“Obamacare is too expensive, and otherwise, not good healthcare. I will come up with a much better, and less expensive, alternative! People will be happy, not sad!” Trump said Monday.
At no point during the four years during which he was already president did Trump successfully establish a replacement health care plan, despite his administration seeking at one point an end to Obamacare with the Supreme Court — something that if actually granted would have slashed health coverage for, again, tens of millions. Americans have been provided assistance through a wide range of policy updates coming with the law, from financial assistance for certain coverage to expanded opportunities to get coverage at all and extensive growth in the availability of Medicaid.
Obamacare is also popular. Polling from the survey organization Morning Consult that ended in the beginning of December found a solid majority — 57 percent — backing the law. Far fewer Americans express supportive views of Trump himself in most polling, with majorities repeatedly instead expressing that they don’t even want him in the currently unfolding presidential race at all.
The health care law that Trump and Republicans have so often targeted but failed to actually eliminate joins other economic accomplishments seen with Democratic leadership, like currently declining rates of inflation; support for jobs in infrastructure development, clean energy, and domestic manufacturing in technology; and work to lower prescription drug costs by possibly substantial margins for Medicare recipients. Democrats set up the opportunity for negotiation with drug companies around the cost of certain prescriptions and imposed a cap of $2,000 on what some will pay for prescriptions each year, though the updates weren’t immediate.
