Former Gov. Steve Beshear, D-Ky., followed up President Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress late Tuesday surrounded by white, presumably middle-class Americans in what may have been an appeal to a demographic the Democratic Party lost to Trump in the election.
Beshear sat casually at a table inside a diner in Lexington, Ky., while he lectured Trump on how his actions as commander-in-chief have hurt the working class in his red state.
“The America I love allowed a small town preacher’s kid to be elected governor, and it taught me to embrace people who are different than me, not vilify them. The America I love has always been about looking forward, not backward, working together to find solutions regardless of party instead of allowing our differences to divide us and hold us back,” Beshear said.
Trump only mentioned the Democratic Party four times during his speech, but every time he referred to Democrats and Republicans coming together to advance policy.
Beshear said Trump’s work in his first few weeks in office has hurt middle-class families, including the pending repeal of Obamacare.
“Mr. President, folks here in Kentucky expect you to keep your word because this isn’t a game. It’s life and death for people. These ideas promise access to care but deny the importance of making care affordable and effective,” Beshear said.
“They would charge families more for fewer benefits and put the insurance companies back in control. Behind these ideas is the belief that folks at lower end of the economic ladder just don’t deserve healthcare.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell bashed the Democratic Party for choosing Beshear to deliver the address primarily because of how his home state’s former governor oversaw the rollout of Obamacare.
“Obamacare has pushed Kentucky’s insurance market to the brink of collapse, and now Democrats want to throw a victory party,” McConnell said Tuesday from the Senate floor. “I’m not sure how else to interpret their choice to respond to the president’s address tonight.”
Kentuckians premiums have increased 47 percent this year and middle-class families want the law fixed, McConnell added.
