It probably should not be surprising to learn that "acting" Trump chief of staff Mick Mulvaney was the driving force that convinced Donald Trump that the Department of Justice should reverse position and suddenly back the long-shot premise that the entire Affordable Care Act, every last bit of it, is now unconstitutional because reasons, and should be axed by the courts. It should also not be surprising to learn that the motivations for shredding the health insurance markets, tossing tens of millions of Americans off their insurance with little recourse and none of the previously defined protections, was a purely political calculation.
The fact that all of these people are stone-cold morons, however—now that continues to be pretty damned amazing.
Mr. Trump has touted that he has kept his promises, Mr. Mulvaney and Mr. Grogan argued, and as a candidate, they said, he campaigned on repealing the health law. His base of voters would love it. Besides, they argued, Democrats have been campaigning successfully on health care, and Republicans should try to take it over themselves. This could force the issue.
So the Mulvaney premise, the one that Donald Trump signed off on because sweet merciful Jeebus, this man is dimwitted, is that Republicans should absolutely torch all of the protections of the Affordable Care Act, all the protections of those with pre-existing conditions, the ability for parents to keep their children on family health plans for a longer period of time, every last bit of the most universally popular reforms ...
... so that Republicans could attempt to portray themselves as the true champions of health care in the next elections. That's what they're going with.
Keep in mind, as you marvel at that, that these are the geniuses responsible for the entire U.S. economy. And our national defense. And getting Trump safely up and down flights of stairs.
Trump, for his part, has leaned into the bit with the usual gusto, declaring that “If the Supreme Court rules that Obamacare is out, we’ll have a plan that is far better than Obamacare.” He is not, however, piping up with that plan, nor are any of the other Republicans who spent the last eight long years vowing that they would have a plan any day now, just you wait, one that would do all the Good Things and none of the Bad Things and you are not allowed to ask any further questions on that. What Mulvaney is going with, as election strategy, is that if the administration burns the entire healthcare-reform effort down, grateful voters will show up to the polls in droves based on the premise that Republicans aRe ThE OnEs PrOtEcTInG YoUr hEAltH.
It's the equivalent of Trump ordering the carpet-bombing of Des Moines so that he can run on rebuilding infrastructure in the rubble. Which he might also do, if Mick Mulvaney thinks he should try it.
This may be the most amazingly incoherent power play Team Trump has put on yet. If it weren't for all the Americans at risk of rapidly dying if this team of sociopathic White House paint-lickers gets its way in this absolutely bizarre re-election ploy, it would be almost worth daring them to do it.