President Obama got in a strong jab at Fox News tonight for their constant misleading of people about the ACA.
Video clip:
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
Transcript:
THE PRESIDENT: So everybody here has got a story. A lot of you, you got involved in the first place because of this health care issue, a lot of you — because I know I met you on the campaign trail in some cases, and you came up and told me about a story of how painful and difficult an illness in the family had been, and not knowing how you were going to pay for coverage, how you were going to pay for the care for a loved one.
So you all know this, and you can tell these stories in ways that are outside of politics. Politicians, if they’re talking here in Washington, people discount them. I’ll just be honest with you. People, they just assume, you know what, everybody is just yacking and trying to win an election. And so that’s why misinformation can thrive.
But when they hear from their friends and their neighbors and their coworkers like you, and you’re able to say, hey, here check it out, take a look on the website — if you reach out to your Republican friend who can’t stand Obama, but is basically a nice person and they just– but they watch the wrong newscast or — you all know those folks. Some uncle or cousin, you love them to death, but they come in with all this information that’s just wrong, and you’re shaking your head, but you decide you don’t want to get in an argument with them because you haven’t seen them in a while and you miss them. Right? Everybody has got those folks. You know them.
So if you’re able to reach out to them, and you just say, take a look, here, here, let’s get on the website. There’s the price. There’s the plan. Here’s the tax credit. Here’s what it will cost for you. Come on, Uncle Joe, I know you don’t have health insurance. You may not like the President, but this really is a good deal. They’ll listen to you, right?
And then there are some folks actually who do like me, but they just don’t know. Because they’re not paying attention. Because they’re on one of the other channels that has “Real Housewives†or something. They really don’t know that there’s this health care plan out there.
Like all of the best presidential take downs, this one was delivered in the form of a joke. It was clear whom the president was talking about. Republicans who get bad information from watching the wrong newscast. Obama was clearing describing Fox News, and that tiny segment of America known as Fox News viewers.
The president’s description was deadly accurate. Fox News viewers are certain that they are right about the ACA, when it is clear that they have been blatantly misled, and possess very few facts about the healthcare law. It is nearly impossible to reason with one of these individuals because they have been subjected to endless hours of propaganda that has been disguised as news.
Considering what the ACA has been up against, it is amazing that the White House is on target to meet their enrollment goals. The Koch brothers have been spending millions of dollars the Republican Party has been on the attack non-stop for years, and the top cable news network in the country pounds out a daily endless drumbeat of anti-ACA propaganda.
Even in the face of all of these obstacles, the Affordable Care Act is poised for success. The law and this president have overcome these challenges because people really do want access to affordable health insurance.
Obama got in a nice shot on Fox News tonight, but his biggest victory will be in the form of tens of millions of Americans gaining access to affordable health care.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
