Donald Trump has startled Republicans and delighted Democrats by resuming his attacks on Obamacare.
The former president was reminded of years-old grievances over the Affordable Care Act after seeing a Wall Street Journal op-ed last week, and President Joe Biden's campaign and his Democratic allies immediately seized on the issue, reported Politico.
“It’s a story that tells itself,” said Leslie Dach, chair of the Democrat-aligned group Protect Our Care. “He’s opening up a Pandora’s box of hurt.”
Trump's campaign says they're drawing up a health care proposal of their own, although it's not clear when that might be released, and Republicans close to the campaign indicated there's not going to be a full-blown repeal-and-replace proposal in place before the 2024 election.
"There’s not a real ‘there’ there," said one Republican close to the campaign. "No one’s working on this.”
Like many issues for Trump, his antipathy toward Obamacare is rooted in personal grievance – in this case, not just former president Barack Obama, but also the late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who famously tanked a narrow repeal measure on the Senate floor nearly six and a half years ago, and Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who convinced him to prioritize the issue early in his presidency.
“He went along with them and we all saw what happened,” said one of the Republicans close to the campaign. “Trump feels burned.”
Dach said he and his organization have fielded calls from Democratic operatives around the country who are eager to make the health care law a campaign issue heading into next year, and one Democratic pollster said Trump's straightforward attack shows how he can negatively affect GOP chances up and down the ballot.
“Trump can still f*ck up," that pollster said. “We can win that issue, believe me. Be my guest … Thank you. Keep doing it.”
