As Trump Launches Media Smackdown, Obamacare Repeal Hits a Wall

Amber C. Strong
07-03-2017

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WASHINGTON — President Trump's Twitter attacks on some of the media have been dominating headlines, but Senate Republicans are trying to stay on course with a key element of the president's agenda: repealing and replacing Obamacare.

The GOP faced some setbacks on replacing President Obama's Affordable Care Act last week, so now they're considering a new strategy.  

Some senators say one option is to repeal Obamacare now while they work to come up with a replacement.
 
"We don't repeal the regulations. We don't repeal the subsidies. Now there are Republicans getting so weak-kneed they don't repeal the taxes. What happened to these people? They all were for appealing Obamacare," Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. said in an interview on Fox News.   
 
President Trump agreed, tweeting: "If Republican senators are unable to pass what they are working on now, they should immediately repeal, and then replace at a later date!"
 
But the president's agenda was overshadowed by his ongoing smackdown of the media.

On Sunday morning, Trump tweeted a video from an old WWE match. In the edited video, the president takes down a man who has a CNN logo over his face.

 

Many are calling the president's tweet incendiary, with a CNN spokesperson saying it incites violence against reporters. 

"It is a sad day when the president of the United States encourages violence against reporters," CNN contends.

Congressional critics are going after him as well, like Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff who tweeted: 

"POTUS posts mock video of him attacking press, even after a GOP candidate did exactly that. Where will his downward spiral take us?"


 Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md, also weighed in on the video. 

"The modern mode of communication is not the issue. It's the crude, false and unpresidential content," he said.


 However, a member of the Trump administration, Homeland Security Advisor Tom Bossert, disagrees.

"I think that no one would perceive that as a threat. I hope they don't," Bossert told ABC referring to the video.  

And Trump later tweeted: "The dishonest media will never keep us from accomplishing our objectives on behalf of our great American people!" 
 
The president had also addressed his ongoing battles with the media in a speech honoring veterans Saturday. 

"Fake media is trying to silence us but we will not let them," Trump told the crowd. 
 
He then pointed out his administration's strides when it comes to reform within the Department of Veteran Affairs and he spoke of the importance of faith in American history. 


"Above all else, we know this: In America we don't worship government, we worship God," Trump reminded.  
 
Looking ahead, the president has a very important week as he readies for a long-awaited meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin. 

The two are set to meet at the G20 summit in Germany later this week.

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About The Author

Amber C.
Strong

Amber Strong joined the CBN News team in Washington, D.C., in 2014 as a producer and field producer. Currently, she works as a correspondent, producer, and backup anchor for "The Brody File." Her beat includes national politics and The White House. And while she loves her current backyard of Washington, D.C., she’s a Hoosier girl at heart. Amber lives and breathes all things entertainment and politics and has had the privilege of interviewing some of the biggest names in both industries, including late night host Jimmy Fallon and presidential contender Rick Santorum. However, her true love is
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