President Trump's hard push for the GOP health bill cost him the support of at least one super-fan

President Trump spent much of Tuesday on Capitol Hill trying to rally Republicans around the American Health Care Act, the House Republican plan to replace the Affordable Care Act. His closed-door outreach included carrots and sticks, and at a National Republican Congressional Committee fundraiser Tuesday night, Trump urged Republicans to push forward with the "serious action" he said America voted for in November. "The House bill ends the ObamaCare nightmare," he said. "These are the conservative solutions we campaigned on, and these are the conservative solutions the American people asked us as, a group, to deliver. We are keeping our promises."

The GOP health-care plan is actually deeply unpopular, according to polls, and according to the Congressional Budget Office analysis, it will leave 24 million fewer people with insurance by 2026 versus ObamaCare. Especially hard-hit is the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion, which will be phased out, along with taxes on the wealthy used to pay for federal subsidies and the individual mandate. In 2014, CNN notes, 25 percent of Americans treated for drug addiction were on Medicaid. That helps explain why Trump's push for the GOP plan finally cost him the support of Kraig Moss.

Moss wasn't a casual Trump fan — he sold his construction equipment for his upstate New York business and followed Trump to 45 campaign rallies, literally singing Trump's praises on a Trump-emblazoned guitar, CNN says. The GOP health-care bill "is an absolute betrayal of what Trump represented on the campaign trail," Moss told CNN. "I feel betrayed."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Moss' son, Rob, died of a heroin overdose in 2014 at age 24, and Trump frequently said on the campaign trail that he would work to help addicts through expanded treatment programs. The ACHA does the opposite, slashing funding for addiction treatment. "I did a lot to promote his candidacy," Moss said. "Now, I wish I had never sold my equipment." You can learn more about Moss and his story in the CNN report below. Peter Weber