Trump claims he never brought up Obamacare, but Harris warns he will cut it

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris warned voters on Thursday that if Republican Donald Trump were to win the presidency again, he and his allies would likely cut healthcare programs. She also criticized his comments made at a Wednesday rally, deeming them offensive to women.

During a brief press conference in Madison, Wisconsin, Vice President Harris reminded attendees that Trump had attempted to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly known as Obamacare, during his previous term from 2017 to 2021.

“Healthcare for all Americans is at stake in this election,” she stated before heading to Arizona and Nevada, as both candidates continued their campaign efforts in the Southwest.

In response, Trump claimed he never intended to eliminate the ACA. “I never mentioned doing that, never even thought about such a thing,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform following Harris's remarks.

Polls indicate a tightly contested race between Harris and Trump, with the outcome of the upcoming U.S. presidential election likely hinging on seven battleground states.

According to an October Reuters/Ipsos poll, the race is sharply divided by gender, with Harris leading by 12 percentage points among women, while Trump holds a seven-point advantage among men.

More than 63 million people have already cast their votes through early in-person voting and mail-in ballots, as reported by the University of Florida's Election Lab.

As both candidates campaigned in the Southwest on Thursday, they made appeals to Hispanic voters. Harris received a notable endorsement from pop star and actress Jennifer Lopez in Las Vegas, following a performance by the Mexican rock band Mana. Earlier in the day, basketball superstar LeBron James had also endorsed her.

“I enjoy Hollywood endings. I like when the good guy, or in this case the good girl, wins,” Lopez, whose parents are Puerto Rican, expressed.

Meanwhile, Trump, speaking in Albuquerque, New Mexico, asserted that he could gain support from the state's sizable Latino community, even polling attendees on whether they preferred the term “Latinos” or “Hispanics,” with “Hispanics” being the favored choice.

OBAMACARE BACK IN THE SPOTLIGHT

The Affordable Care Act, enacted in 2010, remains a key campaign issue, providing coverage to approximately 40 million Americans as part of the U.S. health insurance system. Initially a political liability for Democrats, it has become increasingly popular.

During his 2016 campaign, Trump repeatedly promised to repeal Obamacare. Following his election, he celebrated a House vote to dismantle it but saw the repeal efforts collapse in the Senate in July 2017 when the late Sen. John McCain cast the decisive vote against it.

Although Trump has downplayed the ACA during this campaign, he reiterated on Thursday his commitment to pushing insurers to cover in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments if he becomes president.

When questioned about healthcare during a televised debate with Harris on September 10, he referred to the ACA as “lousy healthcare,” but admitted he has not yet put forth a comprehensive alternative, stating he has “concepts of a plan.”

Harris has made abortion rights a central theme of her campaign, while Trump has promised significant reductions in immigration.

Democrats seized on Trump's remarks from a Wisconsin rally on Wednesday, where he stated, “Whether the women like it or not, I’ve got to protect them. I’m going to protect them from migrants coming in.”

Harris found this comment objectionable, asserting, “It is very offensive to women, as it disregards their agency, authority, and their right to make decisions about their own lives and bodies.”

FOCUS ON THE SOUTHWEST

Trump campaigned in New Mexico, a state that typically leans Democratic, and the crucial swing state of Nevada, while Harris focused on Arizona and Nevada.

Trump expressed confidence that he would outperform predictions that campaigning in New Mexico would be fruitless. “They all said, ‘Don’t come. You can’t win New Mexico.’ I said, ‘Look, your votes are rigged. We can win New Mexico,’” he declared.

In Phoenix, where Arizona Democratic Senate candidate Ruben Gallego energized the crowd with remarks in both English and Spanish, Harris criticized Trump’s rhetoric, calling it “full of hate and division.”

“He insults Latinos and scapegoats immigrants,” she said.

Hispanic voters have historically been a strong demographic for Democrats, but Trump has made inroads with this diverse group. Nationally, polls indicate that Trump has garnered the support of 38% of registered Hispanic voters this month, up from 32% at the same time in 2020. Harris’s support among Hispanic voters stands at 50%, compared to President Joe Biden’s 54% in October 2020.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paraphrasing text from "Reuters" all rights reserved by the original author.