Donald Trump threw the failure of Obamacare repeal squarely at the feet of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as the two top Republicans leaders are moving closer to a total feud.
Trump replied to McConnell’s suggestion that he had unrealistic expectations by tweeting:
Senator Mitch McConnell said I had "excessive expectations," but I don't think so. After 7 years of hearing Repeal & Replace, why not done?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 9, 2017
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Trump is the one who built those unrealistic Obamacare repeal expectations. Trump promised to repeal and replace Obamacare on day one. On 68 different occasions, Trump promised to repeal Obamacare. While the health care bill was sinking in the Senate, Trump was telling his supporters that it was going to pass.
Mitch McConnell was correct. Donald Trump did build these expectations, but McConnell and Republicans have been vowing to repeal Obamacare for seven years. How is any legislation going to get passed and signed into law if the Republican president and the Republican Senate Majority Leader are both pointing fingers at the other guy for their failure?
Obamacare repeal was supposed to be the easy one. Trump provided zero leadership and never a health care bill of his own. If he takes the same approach to tax reform, Republicans are going to fail on that very complicated issue.
The Republican Party is cracking. The splits and divides are showing. McConnell and Trump are this close to full blown throw down, and if Trump keeps pushing McConnell that bipartisan bill to strengthen Obamacare could end up on his desk very soon.
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
