After his first 100 days in office, Donald Trump has failed to live up to the hype of much of what he promised on the campaign trail. When it came to his failure to repeal and replace the affordable care act, or Obamacare, the former president seems to have a few thoughts of his own.
Obama on Trump
Even before Barack Obama was elected president in the historic 2008 election, he called for major changes to the American health care system.
After he was elected, it took Obama just a year to sign his landmark piece of legislation into law, which caused a domino effect of Republican opposition. For the last eight years, opposing and rejecting Obamacare became the number one talking point for the Republican Party, as well as being at the top of their political agenda. When Donald Trump announced his candidacy for president in June 2015, he followed the GOP in lock-stop on the issue of health care, and was able to ride that momentum to a primary election win, as well as a victory over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton last November.
Despite this, Trump was unable to get enough support for his first attempt to replace Obamacare, with the House Freedom Caucus refusing to back it. As the president and his party continue to struggle to find a unified vision on the issue of health care, The Hill reported on April 28 that Obama had a few words about the topic.
According to The Hill on Friday, former President Barack Obama opened up about his thoughts on the legacy of the Affordable Care Act, as well as the new president. During a private event on Thursday, CNN first reported that Obama threw shade at Donald Trump over health care, as well as the president's current lack of popularity. "The Affordable Care Act has never been more popular," Obama said, while adding, "it's more popular than the current president."
Barack Obama's comments come as Donald Trump is sitting on an approval rating of around 40 percent, which represents one of the lowest favorable marks of a commander in chief during their first 100 days in office.
In comparison, Obama's approval at this same time in office was 63 percent. Despite the attitude about the health care law from many on the political right, the country actually appears split down the middle on the issue.
Moving forward
Over the last week, Barack Obama has emerged back into the public eye, though he has received criticism from some on the left for taking as much as $400,000 to make a speech on Wall Street. In response, right-wing media and critics have used the opportunity to smear the former president, continuing a narrative that they have had for nearly a decade.