In a major blow to the White House and Republicans, the president was forced pull the Republican health care plan from a vote on the bill due to the lack of support from his own party. After the news broke, Donald Trump decided to give his thoughts, and actually blamed the Democrats.
Trump's blame game
Over the last two weeks, President Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan have come together in an attempt to sell the majority of their party on the American Health Care Act. However, since the moment the bill was introduced, dozens of Republicans came out in opposition.
While conservatives thought the bill involved too much government, Democrats were critical due to the plan being seen a death sentence to millions of Americans. The Congressional Budget Office appeared to be in agreement with the Democrats, as they predicted that up to 26 million people would lose their coverage over the next 10 years if the bill was passed. After a frustrating 48 hours, Trump decided, with support from Ryan, to completely pull the bill from consideration. As reported by the Associated Press on March 24, the president knows exactly who he wants to blame for the defeat.
Pres. Trump after health care bill is pulled: “We were very close...the best thing we can do politically speaking is let Obamacare explode." pic.twitter.com/ppEFrf9IQu
— ABC News (@ABC) March 24, 2017
While speaking with the New York Times shortly after the bill was pulled, Donald Trump predicted that Democrats would be coming to him within a year to reach a deal on health care, as he blamed the opposing party in the process.
"The best thing that could happen is exactly what happened, watch," Trump said, while adding, "It’s enough already." The president went on to say, "let Obamacare explode."
BREAKING: President Trump says health care bill fell short in lead-up to House vote because of no support from Democrats.
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 24, 2017
During a later meeting in the Oval Office, Donald Trump addressed reporters and continued to blame Democrats for not getting enough support for the GOP Health Care Bill.
"We were very close," he said, before noting, "We had no votes from the Democrats." "Many states have big problems. Almost all states have big problems," Trump went on to say, explaining, "A lot of people don't realize how good our bill was, because they were only viewing Phase One."
.@POTUS: "We were very close... We had no votes from the Democrats." pic.twitter.com/CJrysm3e5T
— Fox News (@FoxNews) March 24, 2017
Moving forward
While Donald Trump expressed the possibility of working on health care in the future, it's more likely that the president shifts to issues dealing with tax reform and immigration. As of press time, the Republicans are forced to go back to the drawing board as Obamacare remains the law of the land.