Trump tweetstorm blasts McCain for opposing Obamacare repeal

Doug Stanglin | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption McCain makes decision on GOP healthcare bill On Friday, Arizona Senator John McCain, who delivered the final blow to the previous attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare, said he will vote no against his party's current healthcare plan.

President Trump, in a Saturday morning tweetstorm, blasted Arizona Sen. John McCain for opposing the latest GOP attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare, saying McCain was snookered by Democrats to let down his best friend Sen. Lindsey Graham, who authored the proposed bill.

The Graham-Cassidy legislation, which was expected to be voted on next week in the Senate, would get rid of some mandates of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, but for the most part would put its taxes in place and redistribute the money to states in the form of block grants.

Large Block Grants to States is a good thing to do. Better control & management. Great for Arizona. McCain let his best friend L.G. down! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 23, 2017

The bill would also end the Medicaid expansion that 31 states and Washington, D.C., took advantage of under Obamacare and overhaul the funding for traditional Medicaid.

Trump defended the bill, tweeting: "Large Block Grants to States is a good thing to do. Better control & management. Great for Arizona. McCain let his best friend L.G. down!"

More: John McCain says he is a 'no' on Graham-Cassidy bill, leaving Obamacare repeal in peril

The initials referred to Graham, R-S.C., a close friend of McCain's and co-author of the bill that appears to be the last gasp effort by Republicans this year to try to repeal and replace Obamacare.

For his part, Graham issued a statement on Friday saying his friendship with McCain "is not based on how he votes but respect for how he’s lived his life and the person he is."

The closely divided Senate means that the Republicans, who control 52 of the chamber's 100 seats, cannot lose more than two GOP senators if they hope to pass the legislation.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has already declared he is a "no" vote, while Republican Susan Collins, of Maine, has said she is "leaning no." Alaska GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who voted against the GOP's last repeal-and-replace effort also is considered a likely vote against Graham-Cassidy.

Trump blasts McCain for health care stance In Huntsville, Alabama, President Trump blasted Arizona Senator John McCain for not supporting the current proposed healthcare reform legislation in the U.S. Senate.

Frustrated Tea Party activists held a rally Saturday afternoon near the U.S. Capitol to urge Republicans to end the Affordable Care Act.

"The single most important promise they have made to us in the last seven and half years is to repeal Obamacare," Tea Party Patriots President Jenny Beth Martin told the crowd. "And what have we seen time after tie after time? Excuses."

McCain, she told the crowd, "is in large part why we have a Tea Party in the first place."

Trump's tweet-o-rama Saturday included three hits on McCain, including one that said the senator "never had any intention of voting for this Bill, which his Governor loves. He campaigned on Repeal & Replace. Let Arizona down!"

He also claimed that Arizona's Obamacare premiums went up 116% last year, and added that Sen. Minority leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., "sold John McCain a bill of goods. Sad"

It was the second day that the president has taken swipes at McCain. At a rally in Alabama Friday night, the president said he was stunned by the Arizona senator's vote against the previous repeal bill, saying McCain's opposition was "totally unexpected" and "terrible."

Surprisingly, Trump appeared to be wooing Paul — the first Republican senator to come out against the bill — to switch: "I know Rand Paul and I think he may find a way to get there for the good of the Party!"

He also issued a tweet about Murkowski, appearing to chide her over her vote in July against the earlier attempt to repeal Obamacare: "Alaska had a 200% plus increase in premiums under ObamaCare, worst in the country. Deductibles high, people angry! Lisa M comes through."

In July, McCain was the key vote that killed the last GOP effort to dump Obamacare, flashing a dramatic thumbs down on the Senate floor in the waning minutes of the vote.

This time McCain issued a statement well in advance of next week's expected vote.

“I cannot in good conscience vote for the Graham-Cassidy proposal. I believe we could do better working together, Republicans and Democrats, and have not yet really tried," McCain said in a statement. "Nor could I support it without knowing how much it will cost, how it will affect insurance premiums, and how many people will be helped or hurt by it."

To make a Sept. 30 deadline, Republican senators intended to bring the bill offered by Graham and Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., to the floor without the usual full analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.