Trump: It's 'beautiful' when families struggle to pay medical bills

At a White House event promoting the unpopular Republican tax scam, Trump had a callous and clueless reaction to a story about a family struggling to pay their medical bills after the birth of their infant son.

Trump invited guest John Azchet, a plumbing apprentice, to speak to the crowd.

“As the doctor bills started to come in,” Azchet said, “me and my wife were worrying on how we are going to pay for these doctor bills.”

Azchet said that because his employer, Universal Plumbing, handed out $1000-bonuses, they were able to pay the bills for their son’s weeklong stay in the NICU.

“It’s beautiful,” Trump responded.

Having to rely on an employer’s whims to be able to afford health for a newborn infant is not “beautiful,” but instead a clear indication of issues with health care.

It apparently did not occur to Trump that despite a relatively small handful of companies handing out one-time bonuses after the passage of the GOP tax scam, most Americans have seen no benefit. Nor did Trump seem to consider what the Azchet family’s situation would be not for the bonus. Or how the family will pay its medical bills once the bonus runs out.

Even worse, Republicans like Trump have been working to make the precarious conditions for people like Azchet more difficult.

Trump and Republicans in the House and Senate pushed hard to repeal of Obamacare and proposed a health care bill that would have stripped coverage from millions.

The trend after President Obama and congressional Democrats passed health care reform has been a drop in the uninsured, but Trump has repeatedly worked to sabotage the program and leave families like the Azchets out in the cold.

American voters are concerned about health care and Republican attacks that try to undermine the system. Polling shows that health care is the top concern for them ahead of the midterm election. And those voters trust Democrats far more than Republicans when it comes to handling health care.

For some reason, that isn’t stopping Republicans from continuing to try to gut health care. Nevada Sen. Dean Heller, who faces a particularly challenging re-election battle this November, is still vowing to repeal Obamacare if he’s re-elected, even though it’s clearly not what voters want.

Struggling for health care and relying on corporate benevolence to provide for basic coverage is not “beautiful.” It is a sign that the reforms that were made need to be supported, not attacked, while other protections need to be put in place.

But Trump and his fellow Republicans don’t care, and they’re fighting to hurt families every inch of the way.