During the course of the 2016 campaign, candidate Donald Trump promised to build a wall on the Mexican/U.S. border. Then he would ask the audience, "Who will pay for The Wall? and the chant would come back, "Mexico." However, in a budget that has a deadline for lawmakers of April 28 to enact legislation to avoid a federal government shutdown, the Trump administration is playing chicken with Obamacare. President Trump is now asking the American people to "pay for the wall." And the Democrats in Congress are vigorously objecting.
In a stunning development that highlights President Donald Trump's desperation to win something during the first 100 days of his floundering presidency, has made an offer to the Democrats that apparently they can refuse.
Trump Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, according to a report on Raw Story, quotes Mr. Mulvaney as offering the Democrats a short-term deal on critical funding for Obamacare. Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace accused Mr. Mulvaney of holding former President Obama's legacy legislation "hostage" by threatening to cut payments to health insurance companies for low-income Americans.
Trump budget chief: Border wall will ‘protect millions of low income Americans’ who lose Obamacare https://t.co/mt5TAY2TIx pic.twitter.com/2iO3uFwDAU
— Raw Story (@RawStory) April 24, 2017
Budget Director Mark Mulvaney denies holding Obamacare 'hostage'
The Trump Budget Director rejected the notion that he is holding something "hostage," instead he accused the Democrats of holding national security "hostage." Mr.
Mulvaney said they are "worried" that this will be the message for the next four years, that "stunningly" the Democrats will "oppose everything that this president wants to do." He added especially when they are offering the Democrats something they want in return.
President Donald Trump, for his part, spent the weekend tweeting his thoughts about the looming budget battle that could end in a federal government shutdown.
In two tweets on Sunday, Trump claimed that Obamacare was in trouble and would "die" without Democrats cooperating on "The Wall."
ObamaCare is in serious trouble. The Dems need big money to keep it going - otherwise it dies far sooner than anyone would have thought.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 23, 2017
Eventually, but at a later date so we can get started early, Mexico will be paying, in some form, for the badly needed border wall.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 23, 2017
Democrats speak out on Trump's Obamacare for 'The Wall' deal
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, rejected the deal as out of hand.
The trade of Obamacare funding for border wall funding was called a "nonstarter" by Matt House, a spokesman for Schumer. He called the White House gambit to hold Obamacare "hostage" millions of Americans, in order for the American people to pay for the border wall. They point out that Trump promised, "Mexico would pay for the wall."
