Donald Trump told Fox News on Tuesday that Obamacare is "a disaster, and I've been saying it from the time before they even voted for it." You know what's coming next, don't you?
He was lying.
In fact, Trump issued no such scathing criticism. He had positive things to say about Obamacare, along with some warnings about costs to corporations, even on the 2010 day it was approved by Congress. His views on that day can best be described as ambivalent.
Trump, now the Republican presidential candidate, was interviewed about Obamacare on March 22, 2010, the day the House of Representatives voted to approve Obama’s sweeping transformation of the American health care system. HLN host Joy Behar asked him if he was “happy.”
Trump’s response: “I’m really torn.”
“Number one, as a human being, I like to see people — it’s inconceivable that, you know, people are sick, like you get sick, or I get sick, or the kids get sick, and you bring ‘em to a doctor, inconceivable that, you know, 31 or 33 million people can’t do that. So on one level, I think something had to be done,” he began.
He then offered criticism, saying “it’s really going to cost a lot of money in terms of competitiveness with this country” and would cost a friend’s company “over $200 million a year.”
He concluded "So it is a very, very tough situation." Which is not calling it a "disaster." Who could have guessed that Donald Trump had nuanced, even thoughtful thoughts on public policy? Well, in March, 2010, he was. That changed soon enough.
But Trump on Obamacare is an awful lot like Trump on Iraq, and like Trump on anything. You can't believe a word he says.
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