‘I Don’t Think We Should Leave Town Unless We Have a Health Insurance Plan’ Trump Warns Senators
“He wants to remain a Senator, doesn’t he?”
Those were the words of the President of the United States to a roomful of Republican Senators, on live, national television Wednesday afternoon, about Nevada GOP Senator Dean Heller, who is up for re-election next year.
Heller is a relatively moderate Republican who is opposed to the GOP health care bill and is largely considered to be in danger of losing his seat.
And that was the President of the United States threatening him.
“This was the one we were worried about, you weren’t there, but you’re gonna be,” Trump said to Heller. “Look, he wants to remain a senator, doesn’t he? OK. And I think the people of your state, which I know very well, I think they’re going to appreciate what you hopefully will do.”
Actually, Hillary Clinton won Nevada, not Donald Trump, and Nevada’s Republican Governor, Brian Sandoval, wants Heller to vote against the GOP health care bill.
Not only was Trump threatening Heller, he was doing it while the Nevada Republican Senator was sitting right next to him:
“Any senator who votes against debate” on the health care bill “says you are fine with ObamaCare,” Trump barked at the room of about 50 Senators.Â
“For seven years you promised the American people that you would repeal Obamacare,” Trump ranted, again, on national TV. “People are hurting. Inaction is not an option and, frankly, I don’t think we should leave town unless we have a health insurance plan, unless we can give our people great health care.”
Heller of course is the Republican Senator who late last month denounced the GOP’s health care bill, effectively derailing a vote for it before it even began. So angered was the Trump White House that America First Action, a pro-Trump super PAC run by Trump loyalists and some former Trump White House officials, began running attack ads – against Heller. Days later, when Heller and other GOP senators made it known to the White House just how angered they were about the ads, they ads were immediately pulled.Â
Trump’s seemingly joking and jovial “He wants to remain a Senator, doesn’t he?” was neither jovial nor joking. It was a very public threat, and everyone in the room knew it.
Heller is not the only Republican who is being threatened by the President.
“President Donald Trump and White House officials have had a series of conversations with prospective Republican candidates about challenging Arizona GOP Sen. Jeff Flake in the 2018 primary,” CNN reported just hours before Wednesday afternoon’s luncheon. “Trump was furious at Flake last fall when the Arizona senator called on Trump to withdraw from the presidential race after the emergence of the ‘Access Hollywood’ tape.”
The President  “told a small group of Arizona Republicans last fall — including [Sen. Lindsey] Graham — that he would spend $10 million on defeating Flake in the 2018 Senate primary, a source familiar with the conversation confirmed. That conversation and the White House’s further involvement in recruiting a primary challenger were first reported Monday by Politico’s Alex Isenstadt.”
Some responses to Trump’s threats, via Twitter:
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