Trump falsely claims he saved Obamacare from 'disaster' — after his attempts to kill it crumbled

“Obamacare is lousy health care,” Trump said of the healthcare legislation he “inherited” on NBC’s Meet the Press. “Obamacare, when I took it over, was a disaster. And I made it workable,” he added.

But Obamacare, officially known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), was among Trump’s first targets during his first administration.

On his first day in office, he signed an executive order to repeal Obamacare, and his first major legislative push was an effort to “repeal and replace” the law. That plan would have restructured Medicaid, weakened protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions, and shifted funding for private insurance to wealthier and younger Americans. It was only defeated thanks to a handful of moderate Republicans, including the late Sen. John McCain, voting against it in the Senate.

Trump told NBC (CMCSA) that those senators “really let us down,” but that he resolved not to let Obamacare “rot and let it be a failure.” and that he is the one who “saved” Obamacare. Both Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance have claimed he kept Obamacare from collapsing during his first term.

However, in 2017, he said, “We’ll let Obamacare fail” to force Democratic officials to negotiate with the GOP and spent much of his term chipping away at it. His administration slashed funding for programs advertising and promoting the ACA and expanded short-term insurance plans that don’t need to follow the act’s guidelines.

On the campaign trail, Trump said he had “concepts of a plan” to replace Obamacare, something that he repeated to NBC. Not much has been said about his potential plan, although he told NBC that he wants to keep coverage for people with pre-existing conditions and “better healthcare for less money.”

“ I have the smartest people in that world looking at it and trying. And if they come up with something, I will present it,” Trump said. “Now, maybe you won’t be able to sell it. But if — if we get better healthcare for less money, I believe it’s very salable.”

However, Trump may have difficulty with any pitch to replace Obamacare.

In addition to the expected opposition from House and Senate Democrats, 54% of U.S. adults approve of the ACA, according to a new poll from Gallup. Sixty-two percent say the federal government has a responsibility to ensure all Americans have healthcare coverage, the largest share in more than a decade.

In October, House Speaker Mike Johnson walked back comments that suggested Republicans would seek “massive reform” to get rid of Obamacare.