Trump: 'Nobody Knew That Health Care Could Be So Complicated'

[DonViejo]

Source: Talking Points Memo


By TIERNEY SNEED Published FEBRUARY 27, 2017, 11:23 AM EDT

President Donald Trump told a bipartisan group of governors at a White House reception Monday morning that GOP tax reform would have to wait for lawmakers to move on repealing Obamacare, cautioning that, "Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated."

"I have to tell you, it's an unbelievably complex subject," Trump said.

For health policy experts and Democrats who spent the last eight years overhauling the nation's health care system in the face of GOP intransigence, Trump's admission that health care is hard dripped with irony. Republicans, in the mean time, voted repeatedly to repeal the Affordable Care Act, but made little progress on settling on what their replacement would look like, a conundrum that is haunting them now.

Trump's comments come as the efforts by Republicans on Capitol Hill to dismantle the Affordable Care Act have been rife with disagreement. Trump himself has offered little guidance publicly when it comes to the approach he would like to see moving forward, beyond a vague promise that he would be offering his own Obamacare replacement plan.

Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/trump-health-care-complicated

[GusBob]

1. lol this something everyone but you knows blockhead

eom

[Hortensis]

42. Just IMAGINE what these governors were thinking!

I wonder, can any of the red-state govs have still been in denial about his mental capacities?

[JudyM]

55. I was expecting this to be from The Onion!

Is he just now getting up to speed on this?!

[Canoe52]

69. Reminds me of...

"As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly”

[logosoco]

2. The republicans go out of their way to make it even more so.

Other countries seem to understand how to make it work.

[NCjack]

15. Just contract the job to France. They know how to do it. nt

[mtngirl47]

71. Cuba knows how to do it! n/t

[putitinD]

76. almost every Nation on this planet knows how to do it except for the US.

[Boomer]

3. You can't make this stuff up. n/t

[bdamomma]

4. he is so stupid

single payer you lame brain, if we say it over and over again will you get it, oh forget it. The repigs want to gut everything.

[dalton99a]

5. "Everything I Need to Know I Learned From FOX News And Alex Jones"

[yallerdawg]

6. "Most unqualified ever!"

Tweeting is a problem?

They need to keep him from speaking!

I can't wait for the leadership of America to be sitting before this buffoon, listening to every inane word, mindless utterance and "alternative fact."

I expect all hell to break loose late tomorrow evening!

[FreeStateDemocrat]

11. No, the world needs to be shown and reminded everyday that he is a completely empty suit!!!

His continued exposure is the best chance we have in 2018, no lipstick on this pig.

[Yavin4]

13. Makes you long for the days of W.

Never thought I'd ever post that.

[Aristus]

25. W. gave us this gem:

"It sure looked like a budget. It had a lot of numbers in it."

[luvMIdog]

36. hahahahaha me too

[progree]

35. This president's staff didn't tell him that $1 trillion in infrastructure would drain the treasury

President blamed his staff for not telling him $1 TRILLION on infrastructure would drain the treasury, 2/12/17
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10028635276

I'm surprised he hasn't blamed his staff (yet, so far as we know anyway) for not telling him that health care is complicated, and it's not something he can fix "on day one" as he promised during the campaign.

"Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated."
"I have to tell you, it's an unbelievably complex subject,"

But maybe he hopes a little magic and manipulation will make it all alright:

Trump's plan to declare victory on the economy, Rick Newman, Yahoo Finance, 2/21/17

... Trump, as becomes more apparent every day, creates his own data when the facts don’t suit him. (See: greatest electoral victory since Reagan, widespread voter fraud, highest murder rate in 45 years, unreported terrorist attacks, etc.) And economic policy is highly dependent on the best possible understanding of what’s going on.

Trump is preparing a budget that predicts the economy will grow by around 3.5% per year for the next several years, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Mainstream forecasters like the Congressional Budget Office, the Federal Reserve and private research outfits think that’s way too high, and expect growth closer to 2% per year. The Trump administration hasn’t yet published its forecasts, which will be part of the 2018 federal budget Trump must submit to Congress in a few weeks

... Trump’s economic proposals so far rely heavily on supply-side assumptions about tax cuts and infrastructure spending producing a big boost in growth.

Trump’s team is already looking into ways to restate trade deficits that would make them sound worse than they are, ... ((that little trick is explained in the article, which will no doubt be used to justify trade wars -Progree))

....Trump is not like other presidents. His contempt for data and science is unprecedented. He dismisses facts that are irrefutable. And he has made promises, such as 3.5% economic growth, that reality may not abide.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trumps-plan-to-declare-victory-on-the-economy-194250110.html

And Newman goes on to explain how bad economic assumptions can be ((and likely will be)) used to justify bad economic policy ...

[JenniferJuniper]

7. "Nobody" is a total idiot and

needs to step down immediately.

[KPN]

10. Lol!!!

[JudyM]

20. Ha! So true.

[unblock]

8. these idiots get to be astoundingly stupid *and* in control of all three branches of government.

democrats routinely become highly expert in myriad complex issues, and get denied power because they use email or sigh or scream or look silly in a helmet.

republicans can be horrible people, say horrible things, do horrible things, have horrible ideas, and be all around idiots and still have all the power.

[TranssexualKaren]

19. Frustrating as it may be....

Have faith that the good guy will always win in the end.

[unblock]

31. i am optimistic on that front; but many will suffer and many will die until then.

and even then, the forces of greed and hate may wane, but they will not go away.

it's a neverending struggle.

[lostnfound]

38. On what weak basis do you make that claim.

[JudyM]

23. They have deceptively better messaging and they play dirty.

We have to get pithier and wrest control of the election rules and equipment, or st least level the playing field with honest standards.

[lostnfound]

37. That sums it up. Nt

[luvMIdog]

9. F'kg Liar - "We already have the best plan for healthcare. This plan is so good"

Remember how he lied during the debates? I can just imagine what he has said to all the women before sex- " This is going to be so good . It will be unbelievable" I'll just bet there were so many let down women . He's just all about the build up. All build up , but zero in delivery

[volstork]

43. This assumes that he

actually talked to women before sex. He seems like more of a "wham, bam" kinda guy.

[luvMIdog]

44. LOL yeah I think more of a tie with rope and smack around & piss on kinda guy ;)

[volstork]

47. I'm afraid you may be right

but I would prefer not to think about it, particularly while I'm eating lunch!

[ET Awful]

84. Far more likely that he just hands them a roll of bills . . . .

we won't get into what he asks in return for the bills, but wear galoshes

[samnsara]

12. he cant even offer up a day care!

[subterranean]

14. They couldn't explain health care in one page

with charts, maps and fewer than 10 bullet points. So complicated!

[Midnight Writer]

83. I saw the NSA was hiring animators so they could make little cartoons for his briefings

[Kber]

16. Also unknown:

15 minutes with Geico can save you 15% or more on your car insurance.

If only someone had told us!

[TranssexualKaren]

17. Is it cruel .......

To say that somewhere Obama must be smiling?

[flamingdem]

18. In spite of himself

he has to on some level be enjoying the process of the recognition of his efforts.

[lapucelle]

77. Trump should have asked Hillary.

She knew, as did Obama.

[ananda]

22. You mean nobody but you and your idiots at the WH.

Everybody else knows.

[hamsterjill]

24. Too friggin' stupid

To even know he's stupid.

God, I miss Obama!

[Jimbo101]

26. Obstruction is easy,...

[ghostsinthemachine]

27. More complicated than a bumper sticker

Surely.

[raccoon]

28. His remarks sound straight out of the Onion...except they're real. nt

[AgadorSparticus]

29. I wonder if they have dreams of John Boehner. They should. His words are resonating

Right about now. Just last week, they dismissed him. This week, it is hard...So very hard and complex.

So apparently, bravado only goes so far...imagine that...

[stopbush]

30. Here's what's wrong with this story as reported:

"For health policy experts and Democrats who spent the last eight years overhauling the nation's health care system in the face of GOP intransigence, Trump's admission that health care is hard dripped with irony. Republicans, in the mean time, voted repeatedly to repeal the Affordable Care Act, but made little progress on settling on what their replacement would look like, a conundrum that is haunting them now."

Er, how about made NO PROGRESS, or made NO ATTEMPT?

And this from TPM.

[neeksgeek]

49. Yeah, I agree... "little" and "none" are not the same thing.

But that's easy to answer, when you realize that they don't really want to replace the ACA at all.

[C_U_L8R]

32. Dumbass

Government is no place for amateurs.
Go home Donnie.

[Lotusflower70]

33. It would be laughable

If it wasn't so sad. There are so many idiots in power. Unbelievable.

[Mr. Ected]

34. Republicans never know how to govern

Beyond attacks and dismantling progressive policies, they've got nothing. NOTHING.

[Rustyeye77]

39. And THIS is our president....

what a dumbshit

[Hekate]

40. Oh go soak your head, Tinyhands. Idiot.

[Snarkoleptic]

41. Cartoon explains why R's can't take the popular part of Obamacare and leave the rest

Very shareworthy stuff here---
http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/17/13652466/trump-obamacare-preexisting-cartoon

[underpants]

45. Let's be fair, he spent his first month implementing his secret plan to get rid of ISIS

He's just now getting to review in depth policy analysis on Tucker Carlson's show.

[MontanaMama]

46. Please forgive my anger and utter outrage at reading this but

FUCK YOU 45!!! Just fuck you, you selfish orange asshole. This issue hits home for me in a way that I almost cannot explain. As a self employed family, affordable health insurance has been, for the most part, unattainable for our family of 3 for the last 30 years. I have lived in constant fear of one of us getting hurt or sick. We have refinanced our house 4 times in 22 years to pay for necessary surgeries including a tumor in my 8 year old son's ear that took the hearing in his left ear.

We have paid monthly health insurance premiums that are more than our mortgage payment for longer than I can remember and still we had annual deductibles of $6,000 to $20,000 to pay out of pocket before any "benefit" would kick in. I have felt hopeless outrage for this for so long that I don't know what it is like to not feel this way. All these years, my husband worked at our small business while I was employed in the goddam health care industry with no health care benefits granted or offered - we did the best we could - while being told by our Senators and Congressional representatives that healthcare was not a right, it was a privilege while they enjoyed the safety and security of excellent healthcare benefits.

When the ACA was passed we had an incredible couple of years when we had real insurance and the peace of knowing if the worst happened that we'd be okay and for the first time ever, we were able to pay for health insurance for our employees! While the ACA isn't perfect, it was a godsend in so many ways.

We are fortunate that our business has grown and done well (Thanks Obama!) and because of that, my husband and I are no longer eligible for ACA assistance with our insurance and our premiums are back up to $1300+ per month with a $6000 per person annual deductible. We're back where we started before the ACA. There is no competition between health insurance companies in Montana. That is the least expensive premium that we can get our hands on right now. However, our employees, due to their young age are all eligible for great insurance through the ACA that we continue to pay for because we don't want any of them to experience the stress and fear of not having that safety net beneath them.

So, YES this is complicated!! Did these goddam fools think it wasn't???? Some of us have always known this and continue to live and breathe it every fucking day of our lives. I know I am not alone in this but right now, as I write this, between sobs I find myself so angry yet again. Our Congress and Senate are too self absorbed to tackle anything hard anymore I am beginning to realize that I'll probably die before we will be granted the luxury of affordable health insurance. I have called my representatives, I have written them letters. At 52 years old, Medicare is too far away and rethugs will most likely dismantle it before we will be able to use it.

I hate 45. I hate rethugs and I hate them for making me hate them.

[renate]

63. you express yourself so well--I wish GOP senators and representatives would read this

Even if you and your family were the only ones affected by the ACA, your story should be enough to give decent people pause. And there are millions of you (including our family until very recently).

I wish I could give you a . And I echo your last sentence. I hate that so much of my mental energy is taken up by impotent rage but it just makes me so mad that our country is being run into the ground--and I really think that once this is over, if it's not over soon, our country will be classified as a developing country and no longer a developed one, with a giant military and nothing else, like North Korea--by people who have no fucking clue about what they're doing and have no fucking clue that they don't know a fucking thing.

I think that's the first time I've ever used that word here. Oh well.

[MontanaMama]

64. Your kind words are an e-hug renate.

Thank you.

[notKeith]

85. Narcissism ber alles.

Trump is criminally narcissistic. I am genuinely surprised that someone -- anyone -- got this asshole to sit down and LISTEN long enough to absorb that little detail about healthcare. And his ignorance of what he even sounds like, by referring to "nobody" - it's breathtaking. Every day the Republicans in the House and Senate are violating their oath of office by not taking steps IMMEDIATELY to remove this self-absorbed crook from the White House.

[neeksgeek]

48. "I have to tell you, it's an unbelievably complex subject,"

Ha ha ha ha ... no, really. You're killing me. (sort of)

[kaotikross]

50. But he said

He said months ago that NOBODY knows healthcare like he does!

[Progressive dog]

51. A psychopathic

compulsive liar got elected to the Presidency. Nothing he does or says can top that triumph of ignorance over knowledge, but he won't give up.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

52. Nobody who is a Republican maybe

President Obama and Democrats in Congress did and ACA is working as well as can be expected with the amount of resistance and Republican sabotage in Congress and in the states. It would probably be working even better if President Obama had been able to work with Congress and Governors to implement the law as it was written and had opportunities to fix the law to make it work even better. Now, we're going to get an unnecessary repeal of the law and a shoddy "replacement" that will just make things worse for everybody.

Republicans: Always giving Americans "solutions" that nobody asks for to problems that don't really exist.

[TBA]

53. Hillary Knew.

[Paladin]

60. +1000. (nt)

[ehrnst]

80. More than anyone really understood. (nt)

[tclambert]

54. It's really not. Simply lower the eligibility age for Medicare.

I think they called that plan Kennedycare, after Sen. Ted Kennedy, who pushed for this plan.

[ehrnst]

81. Something Hillary had planned. (nt)

[Ilsa]

56. Single payer is much simpler, Donald Dumbass.

Take the shortcut: Medicare for all.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

62. Good idea! Maybe his attention-deficit disorder could be put to good use!

I doubt it, but I can dream.

[Bettie]

57. Oh, he is just the dumbest most iniformed

anti-intellectual, sub-human, dickwad on the planet.

I'd really welcome the giant meteor, except he and Bannon would likely be the only things to survive.

[Blue_Tires]

58. lol

Link to tweet

[turbinetree]

59. Hey sexual predator, while you were gallivanting down to Mar A Lago spending $203,000 a hour

on a big old jet, and trying to look like you are important in the eyes of the world and the country.

Especially, when it comes to mental stability, and sitting at a table exposing state classified documents for whoever to take pictures of.

Why didn't you sh*t for brains, take one of your part time senior employees aside (if they have been vetted and aren't illegal ) and sit down and ask them how does your Medicare work?

Maybe, just maybe, they would tell you, ( and if they don't live in fear that you will fire them, maybe they will give the answer) that since they are on Social Security and making so much of there money per month, and that so much of that money for Medicare is deducted from there Social Security check, at about $130.00 per month>

Then if they have Part D Plan they might have to pay around $30.00 dollars a month for their prescriptions.

Since your a genius when it comes to business models you get a twofer for answer.

Then you can go to one of your "employees, that is not a senior, and ask them how much they pay, because I have a feeling that you don't offer much in health care and if you do, the f***ing deductible is around $7,000 for some worthless HMO and then have a cost for the insurance of around $500.00 dollars a month depending on the "plan" and that is a "Bigbly" if and when you "provide one."

So when you sit down and say that its: "I have to tell you, it's an unbelievably complex subject,", it can be simplified really easy dips**t!

Why don't you be a president (when you really didn't when the vote for a mandate, and you really are not my president) instead of moocher and ask some questions at the ground level and get a feel, not like your sexual endeavors, but ask a simple questions and see what you get for an answer.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

61. No shit, Donald!

Sorry that it can't all be explained in a single tweet, you attention-deficit dimwit.

[Kimchijeon]

65. what an utter moron!

[mobeau69]

66. Even your average stupid president, or any other average stupid muther fucker for that matter,

would be smart enough to not say that.

I'm as stunned today as I was the night he "won" the electoral vote.

[pansypoo53219]

67. and now he has to do better. if not......

bring on 2006.

[Angry Dragon]

68. Idiot President 2

[Solly Mack]

70. Wait, wait. Trump says he's the greatest, smartest, knows more than the generals

and can do anything.

Yet, suddenly, "nobody" (meaning he was too fucking stupid to understand the issue) could have known?

Because if his massive ego doesn't understand something then nobody could.

What an idiot.

[TomCADem]

72. Answer to the question...

...what is the most ignorant thing a President has said.

[Danascot]

73. Trump would find

a two sided Rubik's cube complicated.

[canetoad]

74. Yes, health care is complicated

And hard to understand. Fortunately, once in place in a nation, it is even harder to repeal.

Aussies launched universal health care in 1975 under a Labor government. Successive conservatives have tried diddling around with it but it is political suicide to attempt repeal.

Thanks Obama!

[Beartracks]

75. Somewhere, a gilded tower is missing its idiot. n/t

[regnaD kciN]

78. "Presidenting is HARD!" -- Ferrethair Barbie

[neeksgeek]

79. Other things that are also hard, but nobody knew until now.

Making a perfect omelette.

Computer security.

Rocket science.

Predicting an economic collapse in a deregulated financial market.

Being President.

Fortunately for Trumplethinskin, being an idiot is EASY.

[BobTheSubgenius]

82. The fact that the ACA took 20,000 pages to legally describe wasn't a hint?

REALLY? Go figure. Something that oversized traffic cone is incapable of, apparently.

[IronLionZion]

86. Then let's vote on HR 676 Medicare for all

that plan is already written. Medicare already exists. Rename it Trumpcare and call it a day.

Or pass a law renaming the PPACA to Trumpcare and call it a day.

Or admit you lied about having the greatest health care plan to fix all our problems but you were keeping it hidden for some reason.