Jimmy Kimmel is not letting up in his fight to defend healthcare access for the families of children like his son, who was born with a heart defect that’s required open heart surgery. As Kimmel said in May, “No parent should have to decide if they can afford to save their child’s life,” and he’s on a mission to keep Republicans from forcing many parents to make that decision by passing the Graham-Cassidy bill. On Thursday Kimmel was back at it for a third night in a row (watch the video below), and this time he took on Donald Trump, pointing out what’s really going on in Trump’s Wednesday evening tweet supporting Graham-Cassidy.
“Those are the key words, repeal and replace, because for Donald Trump, this isn’t about the Graham-Cassidy bill, it’s about getting rid of Obamacare, which he hates primarily because Obama’s name is on it. He likes to have his name on things. Buildings, you name it. And at this point he would sign anything that meant getting rid of Obamacare. He’d sign copies of the Quran at the Barnes and Noble in Fallujah if it meant he could get rid of Obamacare.”
Pounding on how little Trump actually cares about health policy beyond undoing President Obama’s accomplishments, Kimmel went on to say that “I guarantee he doesn’t know anything about this Graham-Cassidy bill. He doesn’t know the difference between Medicare and Medicaid. He barely knows the difference between Melania and Ivanka.”
(Totally unfair. He has much more to say about Ivanka’s hotness than he does Melania’s.)
But Kimmel also kept up his focus on Sen. Bill Cassidy having lied to him, and Cassidy’s repeated claims this week that Kimmel doesn’t know what he’s talking about, even as experts say Kimmel has it right on Cassidy’s bill. Kimmel said he sees no point in talking to Cassidy again: “We spoke, he told me one thing, he did another, are we supposed to do that again? Some people tell me I should give him the benefit of the doubt, and you know what? I do give him the benefit of the doubt. I doubt all the benefits he claims are part of the new healthcare bill.”
There is only one way to stop Trumpcare: Republican senators must pay their political price by having constituents mad at them. We need you now, more than ever to make calls. Call your senator at (202) 224-3121 and tell them to vote NO. (After you call, please tell us how it went.)
The sincere benefit of the doubt Kimmel did offer Cassidy was to cite his accomplishments as a doctor. But he didn’t take that as validation of Cassidy’s bill, pointing to the litany of medical groups opposing Graham-Cassidy: “All of these groups populated by doctors say this bill is bad. They’re against it. We haven’t seen this many people come forward to speak out against a bill since Cosby.”
But the real points, the points Kimmel hammered again and again: Graham-Cassidy does not protect people with pre-existing conditions. It cuts healthcare funding. There are good reasons the American Medical Association, American Lung Association, and many others are against it. And everyone worried about protections for people with pre-existing conditions needs to call their senators.