President Clinton’s straight talk about Obamacare helps Trump
Donald Trump is thanking former President Bill Clinton for being “honest” about President Obama’s signature health care law.
Trump referenced the former president’s comments at a rally in Prescott Valley, Arizona. The former president on Monday described the nation’s current health system as “the craziest thing in the world.”
Trump said in Prescott Valley, Arizona, that the former president “came out and told the truth about Obamacare,” adding that Clinton “absolutely trashed president Obama’s signature legislation.”
Trump has threatened to discuss the former president’s infidelities at his next debate. But on Tuesday, he said of Bill Clinton: “At least he’s honest.”
He’s also joking about how Hillary Clinton must have reacted to the comments. “I’ll bet he went through hell last night. Can you imagine?” he asks, adding: “But you know, honestly, there have been many nights when he’s gone through hell with Hillary.”
So, how did the Trump campaign get this gift from the Hillary Clinton campaign?
Speaking at a Democratic rally in Flint, Michigan, the former president ripped into the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for flooding the health care insurance market and causing premiums to rise for middle-class Americans who do not qualify for subsidies.
“So you’ve got this crazy system where all of a sudden 25 million more people have health care and then the people who are out there busting it, sometimes 60 hours a week, wind up with their premiums doubled and their coverage cut in half. It’s the craziest thing in the world,” Clinton said.
On Tuesday, he tried to clean up his criticism but the damage has been done.
“Look, the Affordable Health Care Act did a world of good, and the 50-something efforts to repeal it that the Republicans have staged were a terrible mistake,” Clinton said at a rally in Athens, Ohio. “We, for the first time in our history, at least are providing insurance to more than 90% of our people.”
“But there is a group of people — mostly small business owners and employees — who make just a little too much money to qualify for Medicaid expansion or for the tax incentives who can’t get affordable health insurance premiums in a lot of places. And the reason is they’re not in big pools,” Clinton said. “So they have no bargaining power.”