Trump’s new war on health care is already a disaster for him and GOP

Trump has been ramping up his efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act — and it could be disastrous for both Trump and his Republican Party, according to a Politico/Morning Consult poll released Wednesday.

The vast majority of voters, 59 percent, don’t trust Trump on the issue of health care, despite his fantastical claims that he’ll come up with some mythical plan that’s better than the ACA.

Forty-five percent of voters say they trust congressional Democrats to handle health care, while just 35 percent of voters say they trust Republicans on the issue. And 40 percent of voters say they trust congressional Democrats “to protect people with pre-existing conditions from being denied coverage or charged more by health insurance companies,” while just 19 percent of voters trust Republicans to do the same.

It’s not surprising voters feel this way. Repealing the ACA — a longtime goal of both Trump and the GOP — would cost at least 20 million Americans their health insurance, and would once again allow insurance companies to deny affordable, comprehensive coverage to millions of people with pre-existing conditions.

Ultimately, the poll found that the ACA is popular, with 47 percent of registered voters backing former President Barack Obama’s signature policy achievement compared to 41 percent who oppose it.

All of this is bad for Republicans, as a Gallup poll out Monday found that health care is the top worry for Americans heading into the 2020 election. That makes Trump’s renewed focus on health care a risky and politically inept choice for himself and his party.

Republicans have told Trump as much, but it’s not really helping. Trump is still boasting about how he predicts health care will be a “great campaign issue” for the GOP.

And instead of backing off of his quest to destroy the ACA through the courts, Trump is just backtracking on his earlier promises to demand a health care vote before the 2020 election — plus lying about Mitch McConnell for good measure.

Ultimately, Trump’s choice to wade back into the health care debate just reminded voters that Republicans have no actual plan for ensuring that Americans get good coverage, and simply want to repeal a popular piece of legislation that would hurt millions.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.