During a speech in St. Charles, Illinois, Former Vice President Joe Biden repeated his party's characterization of the election as a battle for basic social protections. | AP Photo/Tony Dejak Health Care Biden: Republicans are either liars or 'really stupid' for claims about pre-existing conditions

Former Vice President Joe Biden pushed back Wednesday on claims by President Donald Trump and fellow Republicans that the GOP can protect patients with pre-existing conditions better than Democrats, saying Republicans are either lying or "really stupid."

"They’re either not telling the truth or they’re really stupid," Biden said. "Because there's no way you can afford to cover pre-existing conditions without everybody being in on the deal."


Trump has repeatedly claimed that Republicans would do a better job covering pre-existing conditions, even as his party has worked to dismantle Obamacare, which prioritized those protections as a cornerstone component. The president tweeted Wednesday morning: "Republicans will protect people with pre-existing conditions far better than the Dems!"

Trump has made the claim a rallying cry to vote Republican in the upcoming midterm elections, but public health experts have said the president's comments are incorrect, citing the Trump administration's efforts to unwind Obamacare. Democrats have likewise portrayed the election as a battle to protect health care coverage expanded under President Barack Obama.

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Republicans in Congress unsuccessfully attempted to pass a bill to repeal Obamacare in 2017, with a handful of Republican senators, including the late Sen. John McCain, dramatically voting to kill the measure. Without the votes to nix the law, the Trump administration has taken various steps to undermine it, including actions that could erode protections for pre-existing conditions.

Biden made his comments at a rally endorsing Illinois Democrat Lauren Underwood in her run for Congress. During his speech in St. Charles, Ill., Biden repeated his party's characterization of the election as a battle for basic social protections, adding that Republicans would dramatically cut spending on Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security.

"There’s so, so much at stake here," Biden said. "But the truth is we have such an enormous opportunity."

The former vice president also warned against partisan fighting following a series of pipe bombs sent last week to high-profile Democrats and others, including Biden. He told the audience "our opponents are not our enemies. They are our opponents."

"I'm sick and tired of the way we conduct our politics in this country," Biden said. "And it's on our leaders to set the tone, to dial the temperature down, to restore some dignity to our national dialogue."

