This isn’t going the way Trump was hoping
When Donald Trump ran on the promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act in 2016, it may have actually helped him get elected – because the media at the time wasn’t doing their due diligence and the signature piece of Obama’s legislation didn’t enjoy nearly the support it has today – with conservatives denouncing it for obvious reasons and liberals saying it didn’t reach far enough.
Things changed quite quickly after Trump was sworn in and even those in his base suddenly realized their lives were saved by the ACA (and maybe learned for the first time that it was the same as Obamacare). Several Republican attempts at repeal went nowhere and ultimately cost them the House in 2018.
This time around, Donald Trump not only has a significantly smaller advantage in the House than he did when he was first elected, but an overwhelming 62% support of Americans currently believe that the government is responsible for ensuring that its citizens can receive healthcare coverage – the highest the statistic has ever been in over 15 years of polling.
Efforts at repeal are likely to be even more poorly received – with fewer Republicans willing to be the vote that made it possible. Introducing any such legislation early on is the surest way for Donald Trump and co to drive down their approval rating – and it also makes healthcare a clearly unifying and winning issue for Democrats yet again.
James Sullivan is the assistant editor of Brain World Magazine and an advocate of science-based policy making