“Obamacare is exploding, with no Democrat support we couldn’t get there”: @POTUS Trump on healthcare vote withdrawal t.co/rztLWJn2yC
President Donald Trump has responded following the failure of his health care bill, the American Health Care Act, which was pulled minutes before an expected vote on Friday.
From the Oval Office, Trump said that Republicans were “very very close” to getting the bill passed but that they came up short.
Trump then suggested that he would now leave Obamacare in place and let it “explode” so that the Democrats would take the blame, in particular Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer.
“Remember, this is not our bill,” Trump said. “This is their bill.”
In fact, Trump said that this is perhaps the best result possible because Democrats will eventually be willing to work on a new health care bill when Obamacare fails.
The president repeatedly complained in his conversation with reporters that the American Health Care Act received no Democratic support, suggesting a health care bill will receive more support from Democrats down the line.
Trump also thanked Paul Ryan, saying that he worked “very, very hard.” He then congratulated himself by saying that he worked “as a team player” through the process.
When asked if he feels betrayed by the House Freedom Caucus, the conservative group that opposed the bill, Trump said that he’s not because these are friends of his but that he’s disappointed.
The president said that he never promised to repeal and replace Obamacare within the first 64 days in office. In fact, Trump promised to begin dismantling Obamacare on his first day in office.
Finally, Trump said that his administration will next be working on tax reform.