Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis criticized former President Donald Trump for failing to replace Obamacare during his term in office, saying he would come up with a “better plan” to lower costs for healthcare and for people with preexisting conditions.
Trump announced late last month that he was “seriously looking at alternatives” to Obamacare, prompting scrutiny from President Joe Biden‘s campaign and questions by Republicans on whether Trump could fulfill such a promise. DeSantis on Sunday bashed the former president and leading GOP candidate, calling out Trump for making Obamacare repeal a 2024 campaign pledge after saying he would do it his first time.
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“This is part of a pattern where he’s running on things that he didn’t do,” DeSantis told NBC’s Meet the Press, referring to the border wall, among other complaints.
In an effort to one-up the Republican presidential front-runner, DeSantis vowed his replacement for Obamacare, also known as the Affordable Care Act, would have “more transparency, more consumer choice, more affordable options, less red tape, less bureaucracy weighing everybody down.”
Trump, in his first term, attempted to repeal and replace Obamacare in 2017 when Republicans sported a trifecta across the executive branch and both chambers in Congress, but still failed to secure a replacement.
“Here’s what I will do. What I think they’re going to need to do is have a plan that will supersede Obamacare that will lower prices for people so that they can afford health care while also making sure that people with pre-existing conditions are protected,” DeSantis said, adding his campaign would lay out a comprehensive plan by spring.
The Department of Health and Human Services reports more than 40 million people are insured via Obamacare.
DeSantis’s comments come as he just celebrated holding events in all 99 counties in Iowa, according to his campaign, while Trump has held only 13 events.
The Florida governor trails Trump nationally by more than 40 points, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average for the GOP presidential nomination. And despite DeSantis’s major endorsement from Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, polls show a plurality of Republicans consider him as their second pick for the nomination.
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When pressed about staying in the election through the Iowa caucuses, DeSantis said it would be “absurd” if he didn’t remain in the race, saying candidates have won the Iowa caucuses but didn’t ultimately win the nomination.
“If he’s running for personal retribution, that is not going to lead to what we need as a country,” DeSantis said of Trump. “You got to be running for the American people and their issues, not about your own personal issues, and that is a distinction between us.”
