During one of Donald Trump’s Twitter rants on March 4, Trump claimed that 44th President Barack Obama wiretapped phones in the Trump Tower during election night.
Critics wonder if Trump’s reported wiretapping is a distraction for the plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
If this proposal is passed by the House and the Senate, this will definitely be a win for the Trump administration. Therefore, Trump has no reason to cover this proposal or any other bill up by making wild allegations about Obama during a Twitter rant. I do not believe the allegation served as a distraction.
First, we have to recognize (and maybe even credit) the Trump administration for being able to deliver on their campaign promises. Since Trump announced that he was running for president, he has promised his supporters that he would repeal and eventually replace the Affordable Care Act. On March 6, House Republicans released their long-awaited repeal plan.
The bill reportedly changes the grounds of subsidies with the requirement now being based on age instead of income, defunds Planned Parenthood, revokes the right for private insurance companies to cover abortions, takes away the penalty for not having insurance, affords states the right to decide on maternity and mental health benefits and cuts taxes for the wealthy.
While I believe that most of the plan is anti-feminist and a slap in the face to the poor, it is definitely a plan that most Republicans will be proud to support – due to the lack of government intervention and the “every man for himself ” mentality throughout the bill. Arguing against this bill would basically be an argument against the Republican laissez-faire ideology, which I, for the most part, disagree with.
For instance, I could live with the insurance penalty being taken away – even though I believe that everyone should have insurance. According to the LA Times, Republicans are proposing that insurance providers charge higher premiums for those who wait a period of time to renew their insurance plans. I believe that this policy is for the greater good of all people because healthcare is a necessity.
I do not see the American government ever taking a socialist approach to healthcare by providing free healthcare to everyone, so for the sake of Republicans’ pride and to the relief of the national government’s bank account, this plan will have to do, for now.
However, I disagree with defunding Planned Parenthood – which provides not just abortions but a multitude of health services to low-income families – and disallowing private insurance companies from funding abortions. The latter I find to be in direct opposition to the “no government intervention” goal of the Republican party. Private insurance companies, because they are private, should not have their policies regulated by the federal government.
The defunding of Planned Parenthood and rules for private insurance companies serve as a push of the Trump administration’s pro-life stance.
The laissez-faire ideology is supposed to give rights to the states as well to the people, but if women are forced to seek black market abortions or pay higher costs for legal and safe abortions, it does not seem that this administration is for the rights for all people – especially if they are making it more difficult for women to terminate unwanted pregnancies. But of course, belief systems vary depending on the party in control of the White House, and regardless if that party in control is Democrat or Republican, that party will not fund a program they do not personally value as important.
I believe Trump subtweeted Obama because he genuinely believes Obama ordered wiretapping – despite the lack of evidence that has thus prompted no investigation by the FBI and Justice Department. The man is simply not intelligent nor is he a dignified president.
Even press secretary Sean Spicer could not properly defend him in a recent press conference.
“I think the president made it clear that he wants Congress to go in and look,” Spicer said. “There is no question that something happened. The question is, is it surveillance, wiretapping or whatever?”
His uncertainty of what happened is concerning, to say the least.
I have faith that the media can provide clarity and transparency to the American people. The media can multitask and report on more than one issue at a time, so do not worry, the media will cover everything Trump does and plans to do in the coming days, months and years (if he stays in office that long).
After the White House blocked news organizations like CNN, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Politico, BuzzFeed, the BBC and the Guardian from a press briefing in late February, journalists are more determined than ever to expose the truth.
