President Donald Trump's efforts to take healthcare from millions of Americans via repeal of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, have repeatedly fallen flat.
This happened most notably when the late Senator John McCain (R-AZ) cast the deciding vote to allow his 2008 Presidential rival's most consequential legislation to remain in effect.
A formative piece of the Affordable Care Act is that insurance companies can't deny coverage based on the pre-existing conditions of potential customers.
When Republicans controlled both legislative houses, Trump and his allies couldn't come up with an alternative to Obamacare that would pass the Senate.
He continues to claim that he's a champion for protecting pre-existing conditions.
As you may have imagined, this is completely false.
Former Vice President and current contender for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, Joe Biden, called Trump's lie out directly.
Another presidential candidate, the billionaire former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, responded to Trump as well.
Nearly all of the GOP's efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare, which Trump supported, would have lessened or outright eliminated protections for those with pre-existing conditions. The Trump administration is currently fighting in court to have Obamacare—and its pre-existing condition protections—deemed unconstitutional.
Others weren't going to let Trump's lie fly either.
Healthcare is already a central part of each party's platform, with Trump rallying to repeal it, some Democratic candidates hoping to maintain the ACA, and other candidates pushing for a healthcare system that allows all Americans to receive medical care.
