Eric Cantor says he ‘never believed’ GOP rallying call to repeal Obamacare while Obama was in office

“To give the impression that if Republicans were in control of the House and Senate, that we could do that when Obama was still in office … I never believed it,” Cantor said in an interview with the Washingtonian.

Republicans were able to extend their majority in the House and take control of the Senate in the 2014 midterm election running on the platform to repeal and replace Obamacare. Cantor lost his re-election bid in the GOP primary in 2014.

“We sort of all got what was going on, that there was this disconnect in terms of communication, because no one wanted to take the time out in the general public to even think about ‘Wait a minute — that can’t happen,'” Cantor said in the interview.

He also said, “If you’ve got that anger working for you, you’re gonna let it be.”

Cantor lost in the 2014 primaries to a tea party candidate and is no longer a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, but he remains involved politically. He called out Republican leaders on Wednesday about the importance of a GOP-led Congress and White House working together to stop Obamacare.

“Obama was never going to repeal this law – that’s a fact. Republican leaders needed a GOP Congress AND PRESIDENT to stop this terrible law,” Cantor said.

Cantor congratulated Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., for reaching the 50 votes needed to proceed to debate on the Senate healthcare bill and pushed for the completion of the repeal and replacement of Obamacare.

“Congratulations to @SenateMajLdr for moving it along in the Senate. We have a GOP president NOW to sign repeal/replace. Let’s get it done!” Cantor said.