Transcript of Speaker Johnson attempts to walk back ‘no Obamacare’ comment

Speaker Mike Johnson appears to be doing cleanup after being caught on camera, promising to do precisely what Donald Trump recently promised not to do, namely, End the Affordable Care Act. Health policy or Obamacare, you remember, was a major driver of voters. The polls in 2018, 2020, 2022. The Affordable Care Act, unpopular when it began, now no longer is. Back in April, in a video on social media, the former President said he's, not running to terminate the ACA. Instead, he promised to, make it much better, much stronger, even though he tried to eliminate it for for many, many years, his entire administration. Today, though, CNN obtained video taken on Monday at a Trump volunteer office in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, of House Speaker Johnson saying this. The health care reform is going to be a big part of the agenda. When I say we're going to have a very aggressive first hundred days agenda, we got a lot of things on the table. No Obamacare. No more Obamacare, he said. Last month, the Treasury Department reported that nearly 50 million Americans had been covered by it over the last 10 years. Well, tonight, Speaker Johnson said in a statement, Despite the dishonest characterizations from the Harris campaign, the audio and transcript make clear that I offer no such promise to end Obamacare, and in fact, acknowledge that the policy is deeply ingrained in our health care system.

The Trump campaign offered a shorter version saying, Repealing Obamacare is not President Trump's policy position. Back now with the panel. Does it make sense with less than a week to go that he would be saying these things? Or I mean, clearly, he was just going along with what somebody shouted out.

No, I don't think he was just going along with it.

Well, I'm not saying he doesn't believe it.

No, I think he probably... I don't know why in this day and age, you wouldn't think there's always a camera on you with cell phones and whatnot. But I think he does want to repel Obamacare. I think we saw 60, 61 times that tried to repel Obamacare. Just a couple of points here. One, this is why people question the consistency of Donald Trump and the inconsistency of Donald Trump when he says, Oh, I went and signed a national abortion ban. It's because the people that you said at your rally that you have some big old plan to Mike Johnson about what you have in store when you win the election. So what is that plan? Is it no more Obamacare, like Speaker Johnson said? It's why when people connect Donald Trump to Project 2025 and they say, Oh, his hands aren't all on it, is because they do want to get rid of health care in Project 2025.

We should also point out that Donald Trump ran in 2016 on eliminating Obamacare. I remember an endless interview. He was like, Day one, going to eliminate it, and within the hour, my plan is going to be in place and it's going to be better and no pre-existing conditions.

And Obamacare is great. Obamacare, people love Obamacare. It's not perfect. It's not perfect. It's not perfect. But many, many more Americans have Obamacare. And that is why John McCain did the infamous, No, I'm not voting for it, because he also knew his constituents liked Obamacare.

The ship has clearly sailed on repealing it, and Johnson made that clear. It's ingrained in our system. But what must be done, and I think what the Republicans are going to focus on, is prices. People feel like they're paying more and more and more for insurance and getting less and less coverage. So that is what they want to deal with. I think they're extremely concerned about transparency. Nobody knows exactly what's in these medical bills you get. Also, I talked to a senior member of the House Republican conference tonight who's directly involved in policymaking on health care. He said, Right out of the gate, we will not do anything to jeopardize pre-existing conditions. So when I hear that, what I hear is Republicans understand the political contours in which they're operating, and they're going to act accordingly, but they will not ignore the fact that prices have gone up and coverage has gotten worse for millions upon millions of Americans.

Why if they were running on this in 2016, and This was widely talked about. This was target number one.

Why did I give up trying to dunk a basketball in my driveway? Because after you try so many times and fall on your face, you move on to either lower the goal or Or you start shooting.

It was only because of John McCain that there was not an overhaul about this several years ago. What I see in this whole thing is Donald Trump called the speaker of the House and said, What are you talking about? Because this was not supposed to come up in the last couple of days, something that would be opposed by millions of Americans.

It's interesting to me. It has not gotten more attention, frankly. It seems to me a pretty huge thing that he just let this... He just said out loud, Yeah, no more involvement.

But again, there are no plans. Donald Trump in the debate, he didn't have any plans in the debate about health care either.

He said that there were concepts. He said that he had concepts of a plan.

Well, there are things that the Republicans have been looking into in the House, streamlining middlemen in the system, PBM reform, for example. Again, this transparency thing is a big deal to Republicans. But the overall goal, and I would think both parties would agree on this, is how can the price keep going up but people continue to feel like they're getting less and less coverage? That's not true if you already are on Medicaid or something, you're getting it for free. But for people who pay premiums who continuously feel like their coverage is getting worse, something should be done. The next party, whoever's in the majority, it's going to be a slim majority, should do something about it.

I just want to draw the contrast is that in the Biden administration, they kept the price of insulin. They negotiated prescription drug costs. Kamala Harris has rolled out what her plans would be. It's just, again, the contrast is that he said what he said, no more Obamacare. I don't like to put words in people's mouths.

It's also interesting because the knock The pitch on her has been from Republicans has been she has no plans. That's right. Where she has rolled out plans on this.

What's the plan? The status quo?

Well, she talks about expanding coverage for caregivers because right now, most of them don't have coverage. She talked about not just doing negotiating prescription drug prices under Medicare, but expanding all prescription drug prices. The issue is premiums.

Premiums are going up. People feel like they're getting less coverage. To me, if I were a healthcare-focused voter and I were I'm looking at my premiums going up all the time and feeling like it doesn't even feel like I have insurance at all, I'd be looking for one of these two parties.

Is Donald Trump talking about that?

No, it's not a high priority.

Scott, this is new. You're doing great.

You're doing great. Mike Johnson Mike Johnson. Look, I will tell you this, in house races across the country, I am certain that candidates for the- You're saying Mike Johnson wants to do that, but Mike Johnson said no more Obamacare. My understanding is what he was saying is, We're not going to be repealing Obamacare because it's too ingrained We have to do massive reforms because we're not happy with the President.

So you meant no more attempts to repeal Obamacare does not, no more Obamacare like he actually- You're the useman in so much.

Look, the House of Representatives is going to be a narrow majority one way or the other. How much controversial stuff do you think either party is going to be able to cram through. You're right.

There's not going to be any controversy. The most important thing Scott said tonight from his source on The Hill is that they're not going to change pre-existing conditions. Let's just boil it down to what's the most popular thing about Obamacare is that people got coverage and for longer period of time with their children. That is what they are most concerned about. And yes, drug prices and care for the elderly and all of that falls way below that.

The inflation crisis in this country that we've had for the last four years hit health care almost worse than anything. People know it, people feel it. Whoever's in the majority and whoever's in the White House, if they don't tackle this, it's a political malpractice.

I agree with you. I just really don't think health care is a winning issue that Republicans should be bringing up the week before the election, especially when you say no more Obamacare. That ad writes itself.

Actually, I was thinking you'd encourage them to be bringing it up the week before.

I get free advice. Okay.

Allison Scott-Jennings. Thank you, Gretchen Carlson as.