Biden attacks rivals’ stance on health care
Says Obamacare should be expanded, not scrapped
LONDONDERRY, N.H. — Former Vice President Joe Biden continued to dig at his Democratic presidential rivals over their support for “Medicare for All” while campaigning in New Hampshire Saturday, saying he has a “fundamental disagreement” with those seeking to get rid of the Obama-era Affordable Care Act.
“I have a fundamental disagreement with them on scrapping Obamacare,” Biden told an overflow crowd of more than 400 in a barn at Mack’s Apples in Londonderry.
“I think we should build on it. We should provide a public option for anybody,” Biden said. “I’m against anybody who wants to do away with it and start over.”
Biden has been striking at support for the single-payer health care plan championed by the likes of U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. He called out Sanders to reporters on Friday. In Atkinson, N.H., Saturday morning, Biden said, “I admire the rest of the field, from Bernie, to Elizabeth, to Kamala (Harris), who want Medicare for All. But let me tell you, I think one of the most significant things we’ve done in our administration is pass the Affordable Care Act.”
Later in Londonderry, Biden said when it comes to health care for diseases like cancer, “It’s a matter of days, minutes, hours — and we can’t afford any break in any of this kind of coverage.” His son, Beau Biden, died of brain cancer.
While Biden spoke in Londonderry, Sanders’ campaign sent an email calling the former vice president’s criticism “misinformation.”
“At a time when Donald Trump and the health insurance industry are lying every day about Medicare for All, I would hope that my fellow Democrats would not resort to misinformation about my legislation,” Sanders said. “Under Medicare for All, over a four-year period, we will transition to a system in which Medicare is expanded to cover every man, woman, and child in the country. It is preposterous to argue that as we expand Medicare for All that people with cancer and other illnesses will not get the care that they need.”
Biden also knocked Trump for trying to do away with Obamacare and called out the president for immigration raids expected to begin today.
Earlier in the week, immigrant rights activists from the Movimiento Cosecha group called on Biden to apologize for the roughly 3 million Obama-era deportations. Friday, the New Hampshire Youth Movement confronted Biden on the issue in Dover.
On Saturday, Biden said Trump’s immigration policies and the upcoming sweeps are “wrong. It’s not who we are,” to cheers.
Biden also addressed hits on his record as a senator, saying, “I’m proud of my record. Did I make mistakes? Sure, I made mistakes. But the fact of the matter is you have to know context.”
As his rivals attack his past, Biden said he’s looking to the future. “We have to unite this country. I know that’s not very much en vogue these days. I’m told, ‘Well Biden thinks it’s like go back to the old days.’ I don’t want to go back to anything old.”
Some New Hampshire voters say they’re tired of the Democrats’ infighting.
“If they don’t quit the infighting and get behind Biden, I think Donald Trump is going to win again,” said lifelong Democrat Gerri Layne, 88, of Nashua.
Layne, a black woman, said U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris’ attack on Biden over his record on race during last month’s debate was “disappointing.” So, too, did Momodou Sisay, 71, of Nashua, who said he voted for Trump in 2016 but now believes it’s time to “rally people around” one candidate to defeat the president.