President Obama defended his signature health care legislation Monday against Donald Trump’s promise to dismantle the program and replace it with something different.
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“It’s one thing to characterize this thing as not working when it’s just in abstraction,” the president said. “But suddenly you’re in charge and you’re going to repeal it.”
“What happens to these 20 million people who have health insurance?” Obama asked.
“My view is that if they can come up with something that better and actually works … and it’s cheaper and better and running smoothly I’ll be the first one to say, that’s great, congratulations,” he added.
Obamacare premiums spiked significantly during the presidential race, a development many counted as a factor in Trump’s victory.
But Obama said killing Obamacare has been the “holy grail” for Republicans for the last several years. “Now that has been taken as an article of faith that this is terrible, it doesn’t work and we have to undo it,” he said.
