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LOADINGERROR LOADING President Donald Trump and allies’ failure to create a viable health care alternative was crystallized in one moment on “60 Minutes” Sunday. (Watch the video below.) Grilled by correspondent Norah O’Donnell on the issue, the president blamed Democrats and regurgitated his misleading claim that the Democratic Party wants to give undocumented immigrants, including criminals, free health care. The undocumented are generally not eligible for federal health care coverage. Advertisement Democrats are holding fast against ending the shutdown in exchange for the extension of subsidies for millions of Affordable Care Act customers. However, in his interview, Trump labelled Obamacare “terrible.” The president also called the Democrats “crazed lunatics” who must vote to open the government first to help “fix” the issue. “So you’re saying your plan is to tell the Democrats to vote to end the shutdown ... and that you will put forward a healthcare plan?” O’Donnell said. Advertisement “No, we will work on fixing the bad health care that we have right now,” he replied. “We have terrible healthcare that’s too expensive for the people, not for the government, for the people.” Trump’s evasion lends credence to repeated complaints by the usually loyal Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) that Republicans are not helping Americans in need. She has lambasted House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and other “pathetic” GOP men in Congress for not producing a health care proposal. “With all due respect, you’ve been talking about fixing the healthcare since 2015,” O’Donnell told the president. Advertisement Trump said Congress was one vote short of “great health care,” referring to a failed GOP attempt to partially repeal Obamacare in 2017. “But where is that plan? But where is that plan?” O’Donnell pressed. Trump then rambled about Democrats and Biden ― but O’Donnell resumed her grilling. Forget BallroomsHelp Build aNewsroom Your SupportFuelsOur Mission Your SupportFuelsOur Mission Become a HuffPost Member When power gathers under golden ceilings, real journalism stands outside, asking the questions that matter. Join HuffPost Membership and keep independent reporting strong for everyone. We remain committed to providing you with the unflinching, fact-based journalism everyone deserves. Thank you again for your support along the way. We’re truly grateful for readers like you! Your initial support helped get us here and bolstered our newsroom, which kept us strong during uncertain times. Now as we continue, we need your help more than ever. We hope you will join us once again. We remain committed to providing you with the unflinching, fact-based journalism everyone deserves. Thank you again for your support along the way. We’re truly grateful for readers like you! Your initial support helped get us here and bolstered our newsroom, which kept us strong during uncertain times. Now as we continue, we need your help more than ever. We hope you will join us once again. Support HuffPost Already a member? Log in to hide these messages. “My understanding is if those health care subsidies are not extended, premiums will double for many of the people that are on it,” she said. “And I was looking into it, three-quarters of these people [who] will see their healthcare premiums double, live in states where you won in the last election. I mean, even here in Florida has the highest number of residents on Obamacare in the country.” Trump, again without a whiff of a solution, insisted, “And I’m saying we can fix it, Norah.”
