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Former President Donald Trump raged against Vice President Kamala Harris on Truth Social for saying he , the federal law signed by then-President Barack Obama that expanded access to health insurance.
"Lyin鈥� Kamala is giving a News Conference now, saying that I want to end the Affordable Care Act," Trump . "I never mentioned doing that, never even thought about such a thing."
Lyin鈥� Kamala is giving a News Conference now, saying that I want to end the Affordable Care Act. I never mentioned doing that, never even thought about such a thing. She also said I want to end Social Security. Likewise, never mentioned it, or thought of it. She is the one that鈥�
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)
Trump has given about his plan for the 2010 law during the current campaign, and Democrats including Harris how certain it is that Trump will do away with the law if he wins back the Oval Office. His campaign says he doesn鈥檛 want to repeal it anymore.
But it is ridiculously wrong for Trump to say he has never even mentioned getting rid of it. In his first campaign and as president, Trump supported to get rid of the Affordable Care Act.
Trump鈥檚 new claim fits into another moment of the campaign鈥檚 revisionist health history; his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, the Affordable Care Act.
Trump鈥檚 history with the Affordable Care Act
In his 2016 presidential campaign, sometimes called Obamacare. Shortly after taking office, Trump his "ambitious legislative agenda," which included eliminating the Affordable Care Act. He called it "a disaster" and said he wanted to save families from what he described as a "catastrophic rise in premiums and debilitating loss of choice and just about everything else."
Trump supported congressional Republicans' failed repeal-and-replace efforts. One example is the , a bill to repeal the health law鈥檚 subsidies and regulations, that the House passed in May 2017; it failed in the Senate. In , to block the law, but the court dismissed the case.
Trump for the law鈥檚 marketing, outreach and enrollment assistance. He expanded access to that Democrats call "junk insurance," arguing they and can lead to surprise medical bills.
During Trump鈥檚 presidency, by more than 2 million and the by 2.3 million.
What is Trump鈥檚 plan now?
During the 2024 campaign, Trump has said inconsistent things about whether he wants to overturn the law. In late 2023, Trump expressed interest in repealing and replacing the law.
"The cost of Obamacare is out of control, plus, it鈥檚 not good Healthcare. I鈥檓 seriously looking at alternatives," Trump wrote Nov. 25 on Truth Social. "We had a couple of Republican Senators who campaigned for 6 years against it, and then raised their hands not to terminate it. It was a low point for the Republican Party, but we should never give up!"
On Nov. 29 he wrote, "I don鈥檛 want to terminate Obamacare, I want to REPLACE IT with MUCH BETTER HEALTHCARE. Obamacare Sucks!!!"
Since then, he鈥檚 backtracked.
In March, he on Truth Social that he is "not running to terminate" the health care law, but wants to make it "better" and "less expensive."
He during the Sept. 10 debate with Harris that he has "concepts of a plan" to replace it.
But he hasn鈥檛 given more details, the Republican Party doesn鈥檛 address the Affordable Care Act, and he has not mentioned the law in his .
In a statement for this article, Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that "repealing Obamacare is not President Trump鈥檚 policy position. As President Trump has said, he will make our health care system better by increasing transparency, promoting choice and competition, and expanding access to new affordable healthcare and insurance options."
Our ruling
Trump said, "I never mentioned" wanting to end the Affordable Care Act and have "never even thought about such a thing."
We can鈥檛 read his mind, but we heard his words. And Trump as a candidate in 2016 and as president not only entertained and discussed that idea but sought to end the law through congressional action and at the Supreme Court.
He has said inconsistent things about his plan for the law if he wins the presidency 鈥� and his latest position is that a repeal is off the table. But it鈥檚 inaccurate and ridiculous to say he鈥檚 never "mentioned" wanting to scuttle the law. We rate the claim Pants on Fire!
Our Sources
- Donald Trump, Truth Social , Oct. 31, 2024
- KFF, , Sept. 11, 2024
- Republican National Convention, , accessed Oct. 16, 2024
- Univision, , Oct. 1, 2024
- NBC News, , Sept. 16, 2024
- The ACA Times, , Sept. 18, 2024
- C-SPAN, , Jan. 26, 2017
- ABC News, , Mar. 24, 2017
- NBC, , Jun. 19, 2018
- New York Times, "," June 26, 2020
- Congress.Gov, , accessed on Oct. 23, 2024
- KFF, , Oct. 25, 2024
- PolitiFact, , Aug. 20, 2024
- PolitiFact, "," Oct. 30, 2024
- PolitiFact, "" Oct. 24, 2024
- PolitiFact, "," Oct. 6, 2024
- PolitiFact, , Sept. 20, 2024
- PolitiFact, , Jun. 3, 2024
- PolitiFact, , Oct. 14, 2024
- PolitiFact, "," Sept. 30, 2024
- Statement from the Trump campaign to PolitiFact, Nov. 1, 2024
PolitiFact Staff Writer Samantha Putterman contributed to this report.
