President Trump declared Friday that the real reason the GOP plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare failed was because there were "no votes from the Democrats." "I think the losers are [House Minority Leader] Nancy Pelosi and [Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer, because now they own ObamaCare. They own it, 100 percent own it," Trump said, shortly after the planned vote on the American Health Care Act was called off by House Republican leadership. Trump said he was "a little surprised" by the House Freedom Caucus' refusal to support the GOP-backed bill, but insisted they were still his "friends."
Though Trump claimed "a lot of people don't realize how good" the GOP's health-care proposal was, he maintained that Republican leaders' decision Friday to pull the vote was "perhaps the best thing that could happen." "The best thing politically speaking is to let ObamaCare explode," Trump said, predicting Democrats will eventually "come to us."
Watch Trump's remarks below. Becca Stanek
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
-
What is a bubble? Understanding the financial term.the explainer An AI bubble burst could be looming
-
France makes first arrests in Louvre jewels heistSpeed Read Two suspects were arrested in connection with the daytime theft of royal jewels from the museum
-
Argentina’s Milei buoyed by regional election winsSpeed Read Argentine President Javier Milei is an ally of President Trump, receiving billions of dollars in backing from his administration
-
FDA OKs generic abortion pill, riling the rightSpeed Read The drug in question is a generic version of mifepristone, used to carry out two-thirds of US abortions
-
RFK Jr. vaccine panel advises restricting MMRV shotSpeed Read The committee voted to restrict access to a childhood vaccine against chickenpox
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreakSpeed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panelspeed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kidsSpeed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
