Trump: ‘Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated’ The president appears to nod to the grim political reality around repealing and replacing Obamacare.

President Donald Trump on Monday claimed that “nobody knew that health care could be so complicated,” and again flirted with the idea that Republicans should let Obamacare “implode” so that Democrats shoulder the blame.

Even as he re-upped his commitment to repealing and replacing Obamacare during separate gatherings with governors and insurance CEOs, Trump appeared to nod to the grim political reality of yanking away the increasingly popular law.


"Let it be a disaster, because we can blame that on the Dems that are in our room -- and we can blame that on the Democrats and President Obama," Trump said in remarks to the National Governors Association. "But we have to do what's right, because Obamacare is a failed disaster."

He also used some strained logic to explain why Obamacare’s popularity has continued to generally tick up, with a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released last week finding that 43 percent of voters think the law was a good idea, while 41 percent said it was a bad idea. (It was a slight dip from January, in which 45 percent said the law was a good idea, but overall, the law’s popularity has been steadily rising over the past two years).

Trump on Monday theorized that polls show the program’s approval rating climbing not because people like it, but because they know Republicans will soon repeal it. He did not offer more of an explanation for the claim.

“People hate it, but now they see that the end is coming, and they're saying, ‘Oh, maybe we love it,’” Trump said. “There's nothing to love. It's a disaster, folks.”

He also seemed to express surprise at the complexity of the reform process. “I have to tell you, it’s an unbelievably complex subject,” Trump said. “Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated.”

Trump throughout his campaign publicly pledged to quickly kill and replace Obamacare, while never getting specific about what the alternative would look like. After the election, however, he’s appeared at times to waffle about yanking the law, tweeting on Jan. 4 that it would be more politically savvy to let Democrats own the Obamacare “disaster.”

Recently he’s promised to release his Obamacare alternative plan by early to mid-March, but there’s been trepidation among some Republicans, especially after many GOP lawmakers were forced to confront angry constituents at recent town halls who are worried about losing their health care.

Republicans, who have blamed Obamacare for industry problems like increases in premiums and say the law represents government overreach, are now running into trouble agreeing what to put in its place if they kill it. Some 20 million people depend on the law for their insurance, and Republicans worry about the further backlash they may face if some of those people lose their coverage under a new plan.

On Monday, Trump gave more mixed signals, both expressing political reservations and emphasizing his commitment to repeal and replace former President Barack Obama’s signature achievement, which is formally known as the Affordable Care Act.

As he met on Monday with insurance company chief executives, Trump reiterated his description of Obamacare as a "disaster" that is "only getting worse." He also discussed his own upcoming plan, pledging that it will be competitive and "great" for "the patients, for the people and hopefully for the companies."

"Costs will come down, and I think the health care will go up very, very substantially," the president said. "I think people are gonna like it a lot. We've taken the best of everything we can take."

Trump also told the group that he has instructed his health and human services secretary, Tom Price, to work with industry leaders to "stabilize the insurance markets and to ensure a smooth transition to the new plan."

