In Final Midterms Push, Trump Warns Of ‘Socialist Takeover’ Of Healthcare

The 2018 midterm elections are tomorrow and they could be very bad news for President Donald Trump, with Democrats widely expected to take back the House. Trump’s response to this has been a mix of race-based fear mongering and outright lying. One of his biggest targets has been healthcare.

Trump held his final midterm rally in Cape Girardeau, Missouri last night. Appearances by Fox News’ Sean Hannity and radio host Rush Limbaugh grabbed the headlines, but Trump also doubled down on his lies about healthcare, misrepresenting Republican lawmakers’ plans for Obamacare.

Warning of a ‘socialist takeover’ of healthcare if Democrats win on Tuesday, Trump repeated lies about pre-existing conditions that some Republican candidates have been promoting in their campaign ads – despite clear evidence that the GOP is suing to end protections for patients with pre-existing conditions.

“The Democrat plan will obliterate Obamacare, which is good, but leave the bad parts,” Trump told the crowd. It’s not clear exactly what he means. Obamacare was passed by the Democrats under a Democratic president. While some Democrats support a single payer system, Trump would likely block any new healthcare plans the Democrats introduce.

“The Republicans will always protect people with pre-existing conditions,” Trump said. He has repeatedly made this claim, but there is no truth in it. Trump and the GOP have deliberately lied about their position on healthcare. Republicans have opposed Obamacare from the beginning and done everything they can to take Americans off the program.

Healthcare is a winning issue for Democrats, as Republicans plan to cut Medicare over the next 10 years and have introduced bare bones policies, which are a poor substitute for Obamacare. Democrats have concentrated on healthcare in many campaigns and it could the single biggest factor in delivering a Democratic majority.