The White House Chief of Staff has a news flash for hardcore Trump supporters: if you want a quick reversal of Barack Obama’s top policies by the new administration, be prepared to wait. A long time.
Denis McDonough joined David Axelrod on the latest episode of his podcast “The Axe Files.” And he wants the American public to understand that dismantling huge programs like the Affordable Care Act is not only a timely and bureaucratic process, but rushing it will have dire consequences for millions.
“If (Republicans) mishandle this, they’re going to affect not just the 23 million people who got coverage now through the marketplaces, they’re going to affect the nearly 200 million people who get it through their employer.”
The problem is that Donald Trump’s supporters (and likely Trump himself) have no idea of the thousands of hours lawmakers spent writing, debating, and litigating complex issues like healthcare and other important policy issues. From healthcare to immigration to climate change, making and repealing laws is a time-consuming process. And it has to be done right, lest the country be thrown into chaos.
And now that Trump is White House bound, he needs to realize that he can’t just pick and choose the few issues he wants to deal with. He needs to deal with them all, even the ones he has no interest or expertise in. McDonough says that includes issues like Syria.
But now Trump voters are expecting him to storm into Washington D.C., repeal Obamacare, bring back all the jobs, and erase any trace that Obama himself was ever President of the United States.
But that’s not how this works. We live in a country of laws, and like it or not, Donald Trump has to follow them if he wants to keep the office he was elected to.
Welcome to the big game, Donald Trump. It’s not going to be nearly as easy as you think it will be.
Not familiar with McDonough? Watch a brief biography here:
Image via CNN.
