It was a BFD at the time, and it's a BFD now.
Joe Biden's treacherous road to a second term in the White House just got a big boost from his old enemy, Donald Trump, who is threatening to destroy the health care law that is former President Barack Obama's signature achievement.
When Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, which offered first-time access to health insurance for millions of Americans, Biden, then vice president, was caught on a hot mic, whispering in his boss's ear: "This is a big f—ing deal." Its passage initially cost some vulnerable congressional Democrats their seats in 2010. But ever since, the law has had a charmed life, defying endless predictions of its demise and outliving the tenures of multiple Republican politicians who bet their careers on killing it. Failed Republican efforts to obliterate the increasingly popular Obamacare helped contribute to GOP defeats in 2018 congressional elections and the party gave up its effort to repeal the law, reasoning it is a massive political loser.
But Trump hasn't forgotten. This week, he posted on his social media feed that Republicans should never give up trying to end Obamacare. Trump's motives for trying yet again to overturn Obamacare seem deeply personal. He's not just seething over a broken campaign promise or the perceived betrayal of senators like the late John McCain of Arizona, who broke with the GOP repeal effort. The nickname of the law might be enough — feeding into his deep resentment over Obama. Polls showing Americans deeply skeptical of the Republican record on health care can also partly be explained by the fact that Trump never bothered to propose anything to put in Obamacare's place — while seeking to deprive millions of people of health care, including cancer screenings. And Republican claims about a "socialist" health care takeover were never true. The law simply provides subsidies for people to buy private insurance and falls well short of state-run health care services in Canada and parts of Western Europe.
But Biden is delighted about Trump's new front in their likely 2024 election clash. "My predecessor has – once again, God love him – (called) for cuts that could rip away health insurance for tens of millions of Americans," Biden said on Monday. "They just don't give up. But guess what? We won't let these things happen."
Trump never admits he's wrong. But he seems to understand he made a misstep, since he posted on his Truth Social network Wednesday: "I don't want to terminate Obamacare, I want to REPLACE IT with MUCH BETTER HEALTHCARE. Obamacare Sucks!!!" Again, there's no sign he's got a plan to do anything.
A new fight to save Obamacare will now become a focal point of Biden's campaign, with Democratic leaders ready to fan out in the states to make the point and millions of dollars in advertising poised to highlight Trump's comments.
Biden is vowing again to save Obamacare. But the law that will never die might just end up saving him.
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