Around 1:40 a.m. Friday morning, at the end of a process that didn’t involve a single committee hearing, Republican senators attempted to dramatically alter the health insurance system by repealing key aspects of Obamacare. The “skinny repeal” bill — which would’ve resulted in 16 million Americans losing their health coverage over the next decade — failed by a 51–49 vote.
A few hours later, President Trump’s favorite TV show finally identified part of the process they found objectionable: Democratic senators taking selfies after the vote.
“So you heard Chuck Schumer say, ‘we’re not celebrating,’ and yet you see some of the images out of Capitol Hill last night,” Fox & Friends host Steve Doocy said. “In the middle of the night, people were taking selfies — there was a lot of happy faces… then we’ve got Elizabeth Warren outside taking selfies with supporters.”
Host Brian Kilmeade criticized those who are happy Republicans failed to pass a bill that would have stripped health care from tens of millions by revealing he doesn’t understand how insurance works.
“Congratulations, the healthy people are paying for the sick people,” he said.
Fox & Friends are very mad about Democratic senators taking selfies after the health bill went down. pic.twitter.com/yNuqb885MV
— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) July 28, 2017
A health care system in which the healthy people didn’t “pay for” the sick people would result in a death spiral that would destroy insurance markets. If “skinny repeal” would have become law, that’s exactly what would have happened.
Fox & Friends even created a special graphic to capture the horrors of the Democratic senators taking pictures.
They are so mad that there are graphics! pic.twitter.com/ZLSpQ8zzZb
— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) July 28, 2017
Fox & Friends’ has played a key role in justifying Republican efforts to dismantle Obamacare, whatever the consequences. During a discussion of health care on the show in May, Kilmeade characterized health insurance that covers preexisting conditions as a “luxury,” while Doocy lauded Trumpcare for deregulating of the insurance industry and cutting taxes on the rich.
Trump administration officials and Republicans have used to the show as a safe forum to advance misleading health care talking points and make a case that anybody who loses coverage as a result of repealing Obamacare simply doesn’t want it bad enough.