Trump Renews Threats Against Obamacare, Democrats Pounce

On Truth Social, Donald Trump resurrected his age-old promise to repeal Obamacare, claiming it’s “out of control, plus it’s not good Healthcare.”

It’s a recitation of a vow Trump made while running for president in 2016 and repeatedly failed to deliver to his constituents, despite controlling the White House and both chambers of Congress in 2017.

Obamacare, formally known as the Affordable Care Act, was passed in 2010 during President Barack Obama’s first term.

Trump’s efforts to “repeal and replace” Obamacare ultimately imploded in a viral moment when Republican Senator John McCain voted against it—ironically preserving a major legislative achievement of Obama, McCain’s 2008 presidential rival.

Though the ACA was deemed controversial at the time of its passage (thanks in no small part to an infamously troubled rollout) and arguably contributed to Democrats losing the House majority in that year’s midterms, its popularity has steadily increased over time.

At the time of writing, at least 62% of the American public have favorable views of Obamacare and the Department of Health and Human Services estimates that 40 million Americans have health care coverage under it.

President Biden and his reelection campaign seized the opportunity to attack Trump’s renewed threat to Obamacare.

The official Biden-Harris X (formerly known as Twitter) page shared his remarks, noting that “Trump calls to ‘terminate’ health care for millions of Americans and allow people to be denied coverage for having pre-existing conditions.”

Persistent Republican attacks against the increasingly-popular Obamacare during Trump’s time in office contributed to major Democratic gains in 2018 and 2020.

Whether that kind of political lightning can strike thrice for Democrats in 2024 remains to be seen.