Story highlights Julian Zelizer: Trump failed in using the blame game on Obamacare repeal

Trump, it turns out, is not actually able to put together any deal that he wants, says Zelizer

Julian Zelizer, a history and public affairs professor at Princeton University and a New America fellow, is the author of "The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress, and the Battle for the Great Society." He's co-host of the "Politics & Polls" podcast. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own.

(CNN) In the final hours of the health care debate, President Trump's primary political strategy became clear. He threatened to blame Speaker Paul Ryan and the congressional Republicans if the bill went down to defeat. They would be responsible for the continuation of Obamacare.

He would make this clear to his constituents. Speaker Ryan and the congressional Republicans did not deliver. There is no plan B, his press secretary Sean Spicer said. If the bill was defeated, the President explained, Republicans would have to shoulder the responsibility for the survival of Obamacare and for breaking their campaign pledge.

It didn't work. In the final hours of the workday, President Trump conceded defeat and agreed when Speaker Ryan said to pull the bill.

JUST WATCHED Reporter to Spicer: Why vote? Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Reporter to Spicer: Why vote? 00:32

But don't expect him to pull back from his blame game strategy. From the moment that he took office, President Trump has been blaming everyone else for every problem that he has faced.

When he lost the popular vote, he blamed voter fraud. When the crowds were relatively thin for his inauguration, he blamed the "fake news" for publishing false reports about the numbers. Each time that the Russia investigation took a turn that reflected poorly on him, the President has blamed leakers or Democrats -- or even President Obama, who he said used McCarthyite tactics against him.

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