After Thursday’s network evening newscasts feared that President Trump’s executive action curtailing ObamaCare regulations was a threat to Barack Obama’s legacy, on Friday morning, the ABC, CBS, and NBC morning shows launched into full panic mode over “the biggest move to undermine ObamaCare yet” and touted how “Democrats call the move pointless sabotage.”
“President Trump’s health care bombshell. The White House immediately ends insurance subsidies for poor Americans, the biggest move to undermine ObamaCare yet,” co-host George Stephanopoulos hysterically warned about another presidential order revoking government subsidies to the health care industry at the top of ABC’s Good Morning America. “Democrats call it sabotage, saying it will hurt millions of working and middle class families,” the former Democratic political operative added.
In the report that followed, Chief White House Correspondent Jon Karl parroted the talking points from Stephanaopoulos: “This is President Trump’s biggest move yet to dismantle ObamaCare....It’s the latest move by the President to do through executive action what he could not get Congress to do, dismantle ObamaCare.”
While noting that “the move to end the subsidies was praised by Speaker of the House Paul Ryan,” Karl also highlighted Democrats harshly denouncing the policy change: “But Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer condemned the move, saying, ‘It is a spiteful act of vast, pointless sabotage. Now millions of hard-working American families will suffer just because President Trump wants them to.’”
“Democrats are horrified by this move. They think it will mean less – fewer people insured and more people paying much higher health insurance premiums on the lower income side,” Karl emphasized moments later.
Leading off CBS This Morning, co-host Charlie Rose decried: “Overnight, the Trump administration ends $7 billion in ObamaCare subsidies for millions of low income Americans....Democrats call the move pointless sabotage.”
Introducing a report on the topic minutes later, Rose fretted that “President Trump is trying to undermine ObamaCare on two fronts” with the dual executive orders. Like Karl on ABC, fill-in co-host Bianna Golodryga announced: “Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi responded in a statement saying, quote, ‘Millions of hard-working American families will suffer just because President Trump wants them to.’”
“President Trump often predicts the law’s demise, but now he’s taking a much more active role in nullifying his predecessor’s signature achievement,” correspondent Nancy Cordes worried. After repeating Democrats’ charge that it was “a spiteful act of vast, pointless sabotage,” Cordes argued that Republicans “risk getting blamed if insurers leave the market or sue the government.”
Telling viewers at the top of NBC’s Today that the President was “not giving up” on ObamaCare repeal, co-host Savannah Guthrie proclaimed: “The surprise move overnight that could dismantle key parts of ObamaCare.”
“President Trump has spent his first months in office trying to reverse former President Obama’s policies piece by piece,” White House Correspondent Kristen Welker described in her report minutes later. Like her ABC and CBS colleagues, she sounded the alarm:
President Trump taking a double barrel approach to unraveling ObamaCare. Overnight announcing he will scrap critical subsidies to health insurance companies. Subsidies that are used to help pay the out-of-pocket costs for low income people. Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer blasting the move as a “spiteful act of vast, pointless sabotage.”
“Critics fear the twin hits could leave insurers to pull out of ObamaCare’s marketplaces and derail the former President’s signature domestic achievement,” Welker lamented.
The biased coverage across all three networks was brought to viewers by Mazda, Crest, and JimmyDean.
Here are excerpts of the October 13 reports on ABC, CBS, and NBC:
Good Morning America
7:02 AM ET
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: We’re going to start, though, with that breaking news on health care that’s going to affect millions across the country. Overnight the President decided to end ObamaCare payments that subsidize insurance for poor and working class Americans. Experts say the move will increase premiums, cut insurance coverage. Our Chief White House Correspondent Jon Karl has all the latest. Good morning, Jon.
JON KARL: Good morning, George. This is President Trump’s biggest move yet to dismantle ObamaCare. If Congress does not intervene, it is a step that will mean higher health insurance premiums for millions of lower income Americans.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Trump Takes Action on Health Care; White House Announces Plan to End ObamaCare Subsidies]
In a decision announced overnight, President Trump plans to stop making billions of dollars in subsidies that help lower income Americans pay for their health insurance. According to the federal government, those payments help about 7 million people defray the cost of their health insurance policies. It’s the latest move by the President to do through executive action what he could not get Congress to do, dismantle ObamaCare.
DONALD TRUMP: The cost of the ObamaCare has been so outrageous it is absolutely destroying everything in its wake.
KARL: In a statement overnight, the White House said it determined the payments are unlawful. The Congressional Budget Office has said that ending them will immediately increase the number of Americans without any health insurance. The latest action by the President comes just hours after he signed an executive order designed to open the door for insurance companies to offer stripped-down health plans. They would cost less, but also cover less.
TRUMP: Today is only the beginning. In the coming months, we plan to take new measures to provide our people with even more relief and more freedom.
KARL: The move to end the subsidies was praised by Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, who issued a statement saying, “ObamaCare has proven itself to be a fatally flawed law and the House will continue to work with the Trump administration to provide the American people a better system.” But Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer condemned the move, saying, “It is a spiteful act of vast, pointless sabotage. Now millions of hard-working American families will suffer just because President Trump wants them to.”
The president is already out on Twitter this morning defending his move, tweeting, quote, “The Democrats ObamaCare is imploding. Massive subsidy payments to their pet insurance companies has stopped. Dems should call me to fix!” But George, as you saw in that statement from Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, the call effectively is in saying that Democrats are horrified by this move. They think it will mean less – fewer people insured and more people paying much higher health insurance premiums on the lower income side.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Interesting use of the passive tense in that tweet. It was the President who stopped the payments overnight, now he’s saying the Democrats should fix it.
(...)
CBS This Morning
7:03 AM ET
CHARLIE ROSE: President Trump is trying to undermine ObamaCare on two fronts. The White House last night it will end government subsidies for health insurers. That follows a move by the President to bypass ObamaCare rules and help employers buy cheaper insurance.
NORAH O’DONNELL: The government has paid billions to reduce ObamaCare cost for low income Americans. The White House calls those subsides a bailout of insurance companies through unlawful payments.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA: Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi responded in a statement saying, quote, “Millions of hard-working American families will suffer just because President Trump wants them to. Nancy Cordes is on Capitol Hill. And Nancy, the President is following through on a pledge he’s made for a few months now.
NANCY CORDES: That's right. And each time he’s made that threat, Republican leaders on Capitol Hill have actually talked him out of it because they fear that it will drive up premiums and even leave some insurers to sue the government. But now that they've failed to pass any kind of replacement for ObamaCare, it appears that the administration is taking things into its own hands.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Gutting ObamaCare; President Deals Major Blow to Health Law by Ending Subsidies]
DONALD TRUMP: I've been saying it. Mike, I think you’ll agree, for a long time, let ObamaCare fail.
CORDES: President Trump often predicts the law’s demise, but now he’s taking a much more active role in nullifying his predecessor's signature achievement.
TRUMP: We’ll let ObamaCare fail and then we’ll let the Democrats come to us and they’re going to say, “How do we fix it? How do we fix it? Or “how do we come up with a new plan?”
CORDES: The administration is eliminating $7 billion in subsidy payments to insurers. That money helps brings down premiums for more than six million low income Americans who are enrolled on ObamaCare’s individual market. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has estimated ending these subsidies will push up premiums by about 20 percent in 2018 and actually add $200 billion to the deficit over the next ten years.
TRUMP: We’re moving towards lower costs and offering more options in the health care market.
CORDES: On Thursday the President also signed an executive order to allow employers to buy low cost insurance plans across state lines. The plans likely won’t be required to offer certain standard benefits currently mandated by ObamaCare. Last night in a joint statement Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer called the elimination “a spiteful act of vast, pointless sabotage.” But Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan praised the decision, saying, “Under our Constitution the power of the purse belongs to Congress, not the executive branch.”
Congressional Republicans actually fought these subsidies in court a couple of years ago and won. They argued the Democrats messed up when they wrote the Affordable Care Act because they failed to give Congress the power to allocate these funds which is why, Charlie, the administration has been having to do it every month or so.
ROSE: Nancy, President Trump tweeted the morning this morning, “The Democrats’ ObamaCare is imploding. Massive subsidy payments to their pet insurance companies has stopped. Dems should call me to fix.” So, the question is where is all this going?
CORDES: Well, congressional Republicans are now going to have to decide, Charlie, whether to keep these payments going. That’s going to look to some supporters like they’re propping up ObamaCare, but the alternative is that they risk getting blamed if insurers leave the market or sue the government. So, they don’t have a great choice on their hands and this is something that they were hoping that the administration would continue to take care of until they could figure out some kind of replacement for ObamaCare even though all their past attempts have failed.
Today
7:06 AM ET
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Lots more to get to this morning, including major headlines from the White House. The Trump administration revealing plans to end a critical component of ObamaCare. While the President takes some heat for some controversial comments about the hurricane crisis in Puerto Rico. We’ve got two reports this morning. We’ll start with NBC White House Correspondent Kristen Welker. Kristen, good morning.
KRISTEN WELKER: Savannah, good morning to you. President Trump has spent his first months in office trying to reverse former President Obama’s policies piece by piece. And overnight, the White House announced another major step, scrapping subsidies that help pay out-of-pocket health care costs for low income people. A move that could increase premiums and unravel the markets. All as the President is also about to announce a new way forward on Iran.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Trump Acts on ObamaCare; To Scrap Key Subsidies as Legal Fight Looms]
President Trump taking a double barrel approach to unraveling ObamaCare. Overnight announcing he will scrap critical subsidies to health insurance companies. Subsidies that are used to help pay the out-of-pocket costs for low income people. Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer blasting the move as a “spiteful act of vast, pointless sabotage.”
It comes on the heels of an executive order the President signed Thursday that will allow insurance companies to sell cheaper policies that offer less coverage than ObamaCare currently requires.
DONALD TRUMP: This is going to be something that millions and millions of people will be signing up for.
WELKER: Critics fear the twin hits could leave insurers to pull out of ObamaCare’s marketplaces and derail the former President’s signature domestic achievement. Mr. Trump taking the action on his own after Congress repeatedly failed to repeal and replace ObamaCare, which was one of his major campaign promises.
(...)
