Helping Kamala Harris, Mike Johnson Vows to Destroy Obamacare

The Speaker speaks.
Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

As you probably know, we are entering the final week of the presidential battle between Kamala Harris And Donald Trumpwith Pennsylvania’s 19 electoral votes being the most desperate prize of both campaigns. Trump’s team is already having a rough week in the Keystone State because of oil. racist joke about puerto rico said one of Trump’s comedian friends on his wild rally at Madison Square Gardenwhich is not very well received among main bloc of Puerto Rican voters in northeastern Pennsylvania. Now Harris has received help in the same area from none other than the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Mike Johnsonas reported by NBC News reports:

House Speaker Mike Johnson took a dig at Obamacare during an event in Pennsylvania on Monday, telling the crowd that America would see “massive” changes to its health care system if Donald Trump wins the election.

“Health care reform will be an important part of the agenda. When I say we’re going to have a very aggressive agenda in the first 100 days, we still have a lot of issues on the table,” Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said in Bethlehem while campaigning for GOP candidate Ryan McKenzie, according to The video footage was obtained by NBC News.

“No Obamacare?” one panelist asked Johnson, referring to legislation passed by Democrats in 2010, also known as the Affordable Care Act.

“No Obamacare,” Johnson responded, rolling his eyes. “The ACA is so deeply entrenched that we need major reform to make it work, and we have a lot of ideas on how to do that.”

Health care is not an issue Trump wants Republicans to talk about. The attempt to repeal Obamacare was one of less popular initiatives his first presidential term, and not by chance, one of his biggest failures. This is also one of the areas where Harris beat him. He compounded his problems during a September debate with his rival, when he could only quote “plan concepts” to replace Obamacare despite the fact that he allegedly spent many years on his own, as yet undisclosed proposal.

Worse, Johnson’s remarks strongly suggest two things that are potentially dangerous for Trump in the eyes of undecided voters: (1) He plans to make repealing Obamacare an immediate priority if Trump wins and Republicans control Congress, which likely means the measure will be turned into giant budget reconciliation bill and, if possible, forced his way to the passage; and (2) his party’s views on health care policy are radical and designed to replace the rules central to the Obamacare health insurance guarantee with “free market” provisions that will almost certainly return the health care system to the days when insurers aggressively discriminate against anyone old, sick or poor. Johnson’s rhetoric will also give Democrats an opportunity to remind voters that the latest “Obamacare repeal” package was aimed at destruction of MedicaidThe federal health care program for poor people and a key part of the nation’s social safety net. Additionally, Johnson appeared to be telling Pennsylvanians that a re-elected Trump wouldn’t care if his health care plans made Americans unhappy, according to NBC:

“We want to strike a blow at the regulatory state. These agencies have become weapons against the people, they are crushing the free market; it’s like a boot on the necks of job creators, entrepreneurs and risk-takers. So health care is one sector and we need it across the board,” Johnson said. “And Trump is going to do big things. I mean, he’ll only have one more term. I cannot run for re-election. And so he’s going to be thinking about legacy, and we’re going to fix that.”

A “blowtorch” to health care rules that provide coverage for pre-existing conditions and limit price discrimination is probably not what swing voters are hoping for in a Trump administration that has positioned itself as offering a return to American greatness. And the Harris campaign is certainly grateful that Trump’s staunch ally in Congress reported this. Could this be “little secret” Trump cryptically said he and Johnson would reveal information after the election? If so, then the speaker spilled the beans in the wrong place and at the wrong time.