Obamacare will explode, says Trump

The White House went into damage control mode yesterday as President Donald Trump tried to draw a line under his humiliating setback on healthcare, casting blame on Democrats and promising to let Obamacare ‘‘explode’’ under its own weight.

Critics say his 11th hour decision to withdraw a bill to repeal Obamacare shows his fragile position at the head of a divided party and casts doubt on his credentials as a negotiator.

Trump immediately signalled he planned to move on to tax reform instead, but with a key policy in tatters he will still have to work out how to bridge faultlines among Republicans.

He took to Twitter yesterday to claim the disarray would not get in the way of demolishing Obamacare. ‘‘ObamaCare will explode and we will all get together and piece together a great healthcare plan for THE PEOPLE. Do not worry,’’ he said.

John Feehery, a Republican strategist, said withdrawing the bill was a better option than getting dragged into a long and painful fight they probably could not win. The question now was how to move forward and learn from the experience.

Trump failed to win over conservatives among the Freedom Caucus who believed his plans for a new healthcare policy were not different enough from Obamacare.

All week officials suggested Trump, whose best-known book is The Art of the Deal, was the man to find a historic compromise. Trump met 120 Congressmen and women as he tried to muster the necessary votes. Doubters were treated to pizza and bowling at the White House, lasagne dinners and phone calls laden with celebrity anecdotes as part of the charm offensive.

But at the centre of negotiations was a major flaw. Trump had pledged to protect popular elements of Obamacare, such as forcing insurance companies to offer coverage to anyone with a pre-existing condition. Every time he weakened his stance to placate conservatives, he lost moderates who knew their voters were worried about losing benefits.

‘‘There’s no natural constituency for this bill,’’ said Raul Labrador, a co-founder of the Freedom Caucus.

Without a grasp of the specifics, critics said Trump was unable to offer a true compromise and the use of threats forced some opponents into a corner.

‘‘Trump is a business executive. When he tells his lieutenants to get something done, he’s used to it getting done,’’ one senior House Republican aide said. ‘‘He’s really not used to getting involved himself.’’ – Telegraph Group