Fact Check: Did Donald Trump ever mention ending the Affordable Care Act?

Former President Donald Trump raged against Vice President Kamala Harris connected his societal media level Truth Social for saying helium wanted to extremity the Affordable Care Act, the national instrumentality signed by then-President Barack Obama that expanded entree to wellness insurance.

“Lyin’ Kamala is giving a News Conference now, saying that I privation to extremity the Affordable Care Act,” Trump posted on October 31, which was besides shared connected X, formerly known arsenic Twitter. “I ne'er mentioned doing that, ne'er adjacent thought astir specified a thing.”

Lyin’ Kamala is giving a News Conference now, saying that I privation to extremity the Affordable Care Act. I ne'er mentioned doing that, ne'er adjacent thought astir specified a thing. She besides said I privation to extremity Social Security. Likewise, ne'er mentioned it, oregon thought of it. She is the 1 that…

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 31, 2024

Trump has fixed mixed and incomplete accusation astir his program for the 2010 instrumentality during the existent campaign; and Democrats, including Harris, person exaggerated however definite it is that Trump volition bash distant with the instrumentality if helium wins backmost the Oval Office. His run says helium does not privation to repeal it immoderate more.

But it is ridiculously incorrect for Trump to accidental helium has ne'er adjacent mentioned getting escaped of it. In his archetypal run and arsenic president, Trump supported the thought of getting escaped of the Affordable Care Act.

Trump’s caller assertion fits into different infinitesimal of the campaign’s revisionist wellness history; his moving mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, falsely said successful September that Trump “chose to physique upon” the Affordable Care Act.

Trump’s past with the Affordable Care Act

During his 2016 statesmanlike campaign, the Republican promised to repeal the law, sometimes called Obamacare. Shortly aft taking office, Trump discussed his “ambitious legislative agenda”, which included eliminating the Affordable Care Act. He called it “a disaster” and said helium wanted to prevention families from what helium described arsenic a “catastrophic emergence successful premiums and debilitating nonaccomplishment of prime and conscionable astir everything else”.

Trump supported legislature Republicans’ failed repeal-and-replace efforts. One illustration is the American Health Care Act, a measure to repeal the law’s subsidies and regulations, that the House passed successful May 2017; it failed successful the Senate. In June 2020, Trump’s medication asked the US Supreme Court to artifact the law, but the tribunal dismissed the case.

Trump besides chopped backing for the law’s marketing, outreach and enrolment assistance. He expanded entree to short-term, limited-coverage plans that Democrats telephone “junk insurance”, arguing they bounds attraction and tin pb to astonishment aesculapian bills.

During Trump’s presidency, Affordable Care Act enrolment declined by much than 2 cardinal and the fig of uninsured Americans roseate by 2.3 million.

What is Trump’s program now?

During the 2024 campaign, Trump has said inconsistent things astir whether helium wants to overturn the law. In precocious 2023, helium expressed involvement successful repealing and replacing the law.

“The outgo of Obamacare is retired of control, plus, it’s not bully Healthcare. I’m earnestly looking astatine alternatives,” Trump wrote connected November 25, 2023, connected Truth Social. “We had a mates of Republican Senators who campaigned for 6 years against it, and past raised their hands not to terminate it. It was a debased constituent for the Republican Party, but we should ne'er springiness up!”

On November 29, 2023, helium wrote, “I don’t privation to terminate Obamacare, I privation to REPLACE IT with MUCH BETTER HEALTHCARE. Obamacare Sucks!!!”

Since then, helium has backtracked.

In March this year, helium wrote connected Truth Social that helium is “not moving to terminate” the healthcare law, but wants to marque it “better” and “less expensive”.

He said during the September 10 statement with Harris that helium has “concepts of a plan” to regenerate it.

But helium has not fixed much details, the Republican Party platform does not code the Affordable Care Act, and helium has not mentioned the instrumentality successful his run promises.

In a connection for this article, Trump run nationalist property caput Karoline Leavitt said, “Repealing Obamacare is not President Trump’s argumentation position. As President Trump has said, helium volition marque our wellness attraction strategy amended by expanding transparency, promoting prime and competition, and expanding entree to caller affordable healthcare and security options.”

Our ruling

Trump said, “I ne'er mentioned” wanting to extremity the Affordable Care Act and person “never adjacent thought astir specified a thing.”

We cannot work his mind, but we heard his words. And Trump arsenic a campaigner successful 2016 and arsenic president not lone entertained and discussed that thought but sought to extremity the instrumentality done legislature enactment and astatine the Supreme Court.

He has said inconsistent things astir his program for the instrumentality if helium wins the presidency — and his latest presumption is that a repeal is disconnected the table. But it is inaccurate and ridiculous to accidental helium has ne'er “mentioned” wanting to scuttle the law. We complaint the assertion Pants connected Fire!