In a scene that could’ve resembled an all-White rally in Mississippi circa 1950, dozens of White men stood in the rose garden at the White House smiling as if they had created a breakthrough that would change the world. Led by Donald Trump, America’s President announced, “Obamacare is dead.”
But Trump and the Republicans’ “victory” had little to do with helping the American people. The House’s vote to repeal Obamacare was solely based on eradicating Obama’s legacy — the legacy of a president whose race was always a factor.
Trump’s political run began with a racist remark against Barack Obama. Trump claimed that Obama was not an American citizen and gained a strong following from other racist Whites who despised Obama because of his skin color. Trump and his followers did not want to face the reality of a Black man being able to rise to such a high level of politics. The innate hatred would fuel Trump’s political base, which was mostly inspired by White nationalism. But the thing about White nationalism and racism is that it causes individuals within the group to hurt themselves in order to prove a ridiculous point.
The poor Whites who voted for Trump were basically voting against important things that would have made their lives easier. Under Obama, America had 75 straight months of job growth and over 156K jobs were created, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Overall, 11 million jobs were created under Obama vs. just 1.3 million under President George W. Bush.
With Obamacare, over 20 million Americans had health insurance. According to the U.S. Census, only 10 percent of people under the age of 65 were uninsured under Obamacare. In contrast, over 24 million Americans will lose health insurance with Trumpcare.
Trumpcare allows insurers to charge at least five times as much to older customers; it allows states to opt out of essential benefits like emergency care and cancer; and they can waive the guarantee to provide health care to people with pre-existing conditions.
The death of millions of Americans would mean nothing to Trump and Republicans who are financially stable and able to afford health insurance for themselves and their families. GOP Congressman Raul Labrador proved this form of ignorance by saying at a town hall meeting, “Nobody dies because they don’t have access to health care.”
We have all seen this before. Throughout history, ignorant White men who are fueled by racism have destroyed in order to prove a point. This time, it just happens to be health care.
