Even Mitch McConnell seems scared by how wildly Donald Trump is spiraling out of control
“The Republican Party will become the Party of Great HealthCare!” Donald Trump tweeted this unironically – just days after his own administration said that taking healthcare away from poor people was the right thing to do. This is, of course, laughable nonsense that probably won’t even make sense to his own base. Even the Republicans know it, and in a recent interview, Senator Mitch McConnell made it clear that he wants no part of this delusion.
“I look forward to seeing what the president is proposing and what he can work out with the speaker,” McConnell said when he was interviewed Thursday. In other words, he wants no shared responsibility for tearing down Obamacare. He doesn’t want to even be in the same room until Donald Trump’s tantrum is over.
I have no illusion that Republicans have simply decided to do the right thing. McConnell even went on to say he’s looking to put a stop to Medicare-For-All, should the Democrats try to implement it. It’s all about political expediency as usual. They couldn’t get repeal through when they controlled both houses of Congress, and they lost the House while trying to do it. McConnell will be damned if Donald Trump ends up costing them the Senate too – where the Senate Majority Leader himself is up for re-election.
This particular disaster is for Donald Trump to solely own, and good luck getting it by Nancy Pelosi. McConnell isn’t just acting on his own political savvy either. Senators Ron Johnson and John Thune have also indicated that there isn’t a whole lot of optimism among their leadership for coming up with a new sham healthcare plan, knowing that it will be dead on arrival at the House. The timing also coincides with McConnell weighing whether to go nuclear option on federal judge appointments.Perhaps he is calculating, among other things, how much longer Donald Trump will be of practical use.
James Sullivan is the assistant editor of Brain World Magazine and an advocate of science-based policy making