Trump's Messaging on Affordability & Healthcare Debate Heats Up On Capitol Hill

Is Trump's message on affordability hurting Republicans? NewsNation Chief Washington Anchor Leland Vittert examines how the president's recent comments are sitting with voters and his prediction for the healthcare debate heating up on Capitol Hill.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, let's go to the hoighline and bring in News
Nation Chief Washington anchor and host of On Balance with
Leland Vidder, which you can watch weeknights at nine on
News Nation.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
Leland Vinter is with us again.

Speaker 1 (00:10):
You can also check out his free war Notes newsletter
at warnoes dot com and don't forget for the holidays
to pick up his new book, Born Lucky, a great
Christmas gift for anyone in your life. Leland, thanks so
much for taking a few minutes to come back on
with us, and I want to go back to your
war Notes newsletter from Friday, and you spend a lot

(00:30):
of time talking about the affordability issue and the fact
that the president he's going to try to go around
the country to make the case that his administration is
doing positive work on that issue. What do you think
are some of the things that he needs to focus
on as he tries to deliver that message.

Speaker 3 (00:51):
He needs to focus on letting the American people know,
specifically people who voted for him but who are not maga,
that he feels their pain, He understands their situation. He
gets that that things do cost more and that they

(01:16):
feel like they can't make ends. Meet and the affordability crisis.
The idea that at the end of the week people
don't have enough money for groceries or they're having to
decide whether to pay a bill or buy a Christmas
presence is in a hoax. It's real, and that he's
working on it at a very minimum.

Speaker 1 (01:35):
Yeah, I think he could easily navigate this issue by saying, look,
you know, we're working on bringing prices down. These are
all the different things that we're doing in order to
accomplish that. But it feels like sometimes that kind of
message it conflicts with how Trump likes to talk about everything,
that everything is great and it's the best ever, and

(01:57):
that's kind of what we've seen from him on this issue.

Speaker 3 (02:01):
Well, that is the problem that politics is about understanding
where your potential voters are and I don't mean physically are,
I mean are mentally, and then championing that and explaining
that the number one deciding factor in an election from

(02:26):
a polling standpoint, I meaning, if I.

Speaker 2 (02:29):
Want to pull do a poll to figure out.

Speaker 3 (02:32):
Whether someone's going to win an election, the best question
asked is not are you going to vote.

Speaker 2 (02:37):
For this person? It is between you.

Speaker 3 (02:39):
Know, if you and I Ryan and Leland are running
for office. Who better describes this sentence?

Speaker 2 (02:48):
Ryan or Leland? Who cares more about people like me?

Speaker 3 (02:54):
That's the question.

Speaker 2 (02:55):
Yeah, and.

Speaker 3 (02:59):
Donald has to let people know he cares about people
like them. When it was a binary choice between him
and Harris.

Speaker 2 (03:05):
It was very easy.

Speaker 3 (03:07):
You know, working class Americans. Remember, working class doesn't mean,
you know, race, it means income and education. Working class
Americans in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Arizona.

Speaker 2 (03:23):
They all Georgia.

Speaker 3 (03:26):
They all believe that he cared more about people like
them than Kamala Harris did.

Speaker 2 (03:30):
It was obvious. We're now he has to convince them
that they still do. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (03:35):
We're joined by News Nation Chief Washington anchor Leland Vinnett.
And on that point, how does healthcare factor into all
of this? There are obviously affordability concerns there, and especially
for those who utilize the Obamacare exchanges. If a deal
isn't struck before the Christmas break, how could that play

(03:57):
into twenty twenty six?

Speaker 3 (04:01):
Well, Democrats may have lost the shutdown war, but they
were shut down battle. But they the war they can
still win because they have made healthcare Republicans problem which
now they have to do. Republicans has to deal with
UH and that that is going to be a huge
thing for them. The point you bring up is an

(04:25):
excellent one. And I was talking to your producer before
we came on during the break and he said, how
do you think it's going to end up on Capitol Hill?
And I said, you want my prediction now or on
the air, So he said on the air. Here it goes.
The one thing that you can always agree.

Speaker 2 (04:40):
On in Washington is to spend more money.

Speaker 1 (04:46):
So the.

Speaker 3 (04:48):
Idea of fiscal responsibility.

Speaker 2 (04:50):
From Republicans is gone.

Speaker 3 (04:52):
I think you're gonna you're going to You're going to
see a realization by Republicans. And this goes back to
what we talked about that in.

Speaker 2 (04:59):
Order to let people know we care about.

Speaker 3 (05:03):
People like you, we're going to have to extend the
Obamacare subsidies because if they if they simply.

Speaker 2 (05:08):
Cut it off. So I think they change it.

Speaker 3 (05:09):
It may go directly to people rather than to directly
the insurance companies on it or on. But if Republicans
just allowed to expire and move on, they will be
in for a world to hurt.

Speaker 2 (05:20):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (05:20):
I always felt like an extension of the subsidies, you know,
at least for a year, was the most likely outcome,
mainly because Republicans in Congress didn't have an alternative ready
to go. And that's it's amazing to say that, having
watched the Republican Party, you know, talk about repealing and
replacing obamacarefer how many years now. But if you don't

(05:42):
have anything to go, you got to buy yourself a
little bit of time, and politically speaking, that seemed like
the most sense doing that.

Speaker 2 (05:48):
But they still got to get the votes. So it's
going to be an interesting week in DC.

Speaker 1 (05:52):
News Nation Chief Washington anchor and host of On Balance
with Leland Biddert, which you can watch weeknights at nine
on News Nation.

Speaker 2 (05:59):
Leland with us Don't Forget.

Speaker 1 (06:00):
You can pick up Born Lucky, a great Christmas gift
at wherever you get books, and check out his free
War Notes newsletter at warnoes dot com. Leland always appreciate
the time and insight. Thanks so much.

Speaker 2 (06:13):
Always been Ryan. He's a Ryan Gorman Show five to
nine every weekday morning on news radio w FLA.