President Donald Trump signaled he was finished with trying to repeal and replace Obamacare, telling reporters at the White House he thought the bill’s failure would produce a better bill in the future.
“We were very very close. It was a very tight margin,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office after Speaker Ryan’s press conference, saying that they were probably 10-15 votes short. According to reports, over 30 representatives opposed the bill before Ryan pulled the bill at the president’s request.
Trump said that the bill’s failure would actually help Congress come up with a better plan to fix Obamacare.
Trump admitted that the bill fell short, but blamed Democrats for opposing the bill.
But Trump appeared confident that political momentum for repealing and replacing Obamacare would return, despite Republican’s failure to unite behind a solution.
“I’ve been saying for the last year and a half, that the best thing we could do, politically speaking, is let Obamacare explode,” he said. “It’s exploding right now.”
He predicted a disastrous year for Obamacare, appearing hopeful that even Democrats would back an future solution.
“We will have a truly great healthcare bill in the future after this mess known as Obamacare explodes,” he concluded.
Trump thanked his staff, Republican leadership, and even Speaker Paul Ryan for their efforts on the bill.
“I want to thank Paul Ryan who worked very, very hard,” he said.