From all four corners of the internet, Trump’s pack of health care lies in USA TODAY has been exposed. People will remember this as Trump’s latest detached-from-reality attempt to cover up the truth about the GOP’s war on health care.
Within hours of posting, Trump’s article received criticism from those who know health care the best. Here’s what they had to say:
Washington Post: “Almost Every Sentence Contained A Misleading Statement Or Falsehood.” “President Trump wrote an opinion article for USA Today on Oct. 10 regarding proposals to expand Medicare to all Americans — known as Medicare-for-All — in which almost every sentence contained a misleading statement or a falsehood. Many of these are claims we have already debunked. Presumably, the president is aware of our fact checks — he even links to two — but chose to ignore the facts in service of a campaign-style op-ed.” [Washington Post, 10/10/18]
Vox: Trump’s USA Today Op-ed On Health Care Is An Absurd Tissue Of Lies. “USA Today published an op-ed bylined by President Donald Trump Wednesday morning that’s so dishonest it could almost have been Trump speaking extemporaneously at a rally. In fact, it’s so dishonest that some clever editor appears to have subversively snuck links into the text that debunk some of its key claims — it’s hard to believe that Trump or his communications staff would have done so…Follow the ‘pre-existing conditions’ link and you’ll get a Washington Post fact-check item explaining that Trump has betrayed this promise. Follow the ‘new health care insurance options’ link and you’ll find Trump talking during the campaign about allowing insurance plans to be sold across state lines, which hasn’t happened. Most importantly of all, if you follow the link for ‘eviscerated Medicare’ you find a New York Times analysis of Sen. Bernie Sanders’s Medicare-for-all plan that concludes that Medicare enrollees ‘would have more generous coverage’ under his plan. This is the core lie of Trump’s op-ed.” [Vox, 10/10/18]
New York Magazine: “The Most Perfectly Emblematic Fact About Trump’s Health-care Record Is That He Has Written An Op-ed Pointing Out That He Has Broken His Own Promises.” “The most striking thing about the op-ed, other than the ludicrous claim to have fulfilled his promise on preexisting conditions, is that it does not mention his biggest and most important health-care campaign promise: to cover everybody. Trump promised this over and over…If protections for people with preexisting conditions remain in place, it will be only because his administration loses its legal fight to eliminate them. Whether Trump is more than dimly aware of any of these facts is an open question. The most perfectly emblematic fact about Trump’s health-care record is that he has written an op-ed pointing out that he has broken his own promises.” [New York Magazine, 10/10/18]
PolitiFact: Trump’s Claims on Medicare Are “Horrible Mischaracterization.” “This is a ‘horrible mischaracterization of the proposal,’ said Linda Blumberg of the Urban Institute. Medicare for All would actually give an expanded version of traditional Medicare to everyone, with broader coverage — including items such as dental and vision care — while eliminating virtually all out of pocket costs, she said.” [PolitiFact, 10/10/18]
Michael Hiltzik For Los Angeles Times: “The op-ed Bristles With Lies And Misrepresentations.” “USA Today gave President Trump a big gift Wednesday by publishing a largely fact-free attack on the “Medicare for all” plan promoted by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), disguised as an op-ed written by Trump himself. In strictly factual terms, the op-ed bristles with lies and misrepresentations about Medicare for all, Medicare itself, Trump’s own healthcare policies, and Democratic and Republican approaches to Medicare.” [Los Angeles Times, 10/10/18]
NPR: “The President Is Trying To Play On The Fears Of Seniors.” “The president is trying to play on the fears of seniors — who vote in large numbers — with the claim that any effort to improve health security for younger Americans must come at their expense. But that is a false choice.” [NPR, 10/10/18]
Trump Claims Health Premiums Are Decreasing, When Some Are In Fact Rising. PolitiFact: “Trump references an article about the cost of ‘benchmark’ plans under the Affordable Care Act falling 2 percent in 2019. But it’s worth noting that the decline occurred after ACA premiums rose significantly in 2018 due to uncertainty about what the Trump administration would do with the law. In addition, ACA premiums are a minority of all private health insurance premiums. In its annual survey of health insurance benefits, Kaiser reported earlier this month that for employer-sponsored health insurance, the average premium for a solo policyholder increased 3 percent over the past year, while the average family premium increased by 5 percent. That exceeded the growth in employee wages and overall inflation.” [PolitiFact, 10/10/18]
Media Matters: “The Piece Is A Conglomeration Of Previously Debunked Distortions And Outright Lies.” “The piece is a conglomeration of previously debunked distortions and outright lies common to Trump’s stump speeches, leading several reporters to criticize the paper for its role…In one particularly gobsmacking case, USA Today allowed Trump to claim that as ‘a candidate, I promised that we would protect coverage for patients with pre-existing conditions’ and that as president, he has ‘kept that promise.’ The paper’s Twitter feed even highlighted that passage in a tweet. Republicans’ position on this issue is one of bottomless bad faith, an effort to confuse the public by saying they supports protections for people with pre-existing conditions while acting to deregulate the health insurance industry.” [Media Matters, 10/10/18]
Jim Acosta, CNN’s Chief White House Correspondent: “This Column May Break The Record For The Number Of Falsehoods From A President Ever Published In A Newspaper Op-ed.” “This column may break the record for the number of falsehoods from a President ever published in a newspaper op-Ed. Just this tweet alone is false – ‘outlaw private health care plans’ and ‘letting anyone cross our border’ Huh? Fact check: false and false. Come on USA Today.” [Acosta, 10/10/18]
Dan Gillmor, Professor At Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism And Mass Communication: Op-ed “Full Of Outright Lies.” “Publishing this op-ed is journalistic malpractice. It is full of outright lies, easily demonstrated lies. Disgraceful.” [Gillmor, 10/10/18]
GQ: Publishing Lie-ridden Op-ed Launders Trump’s “Standard-issue Dishonesty Through A Medium That Readers Depend On For Independence And Objectivity.” “At this point we all know that the president is an unhinged serial liar who literally makes things up for applause. Because the First Amendment exists, there is no way to prevent him from doing so. But publishing this embarrassing collection of inane vagaries—and hiding behind its “opinion” framing, as if there is no distinction between good-faith, fact-based disagreements and facially absurd lies—launders his standard-issue dishonesty through a medium that readers depend on for independence and objectivity.” [GQ, 10/10/18]
The Root: USA Today Allows Trump To Publish Fake News. “For some reason—possibly because USA Today is trying to get into the good graces of the president, or maybe they just wanted some press—USA Today allowed the Donald J. Trump to publish an op-ed that is full of mistruths that only become apparent when you’re done reading the lies. In short, USA Today published fake news.” [The Root, 10/10/18]