Health care bill divides Trump supporters in Arizona
In an interview with TIME magazine today, President Trump said, “I tend to be right. I’m an instinctual person. I happen to be a person that knows how life works.”
And a lot of voters agree. CBS News went to speak with them in Arizona.
- Poll: Majority of young adults don’t see Trump as legit president
- Poll: Trump’s job approval has fallen recently, including among GOP voters
It would be hard to find more fervent Mr. Trump supporters than Barbara Wyllie and Corky Haynes.
CBS News asked Wyllie how she thinks Mr. Trump is doing so far in office.
“Fabulous,” she said.
But what about the tweets, the bragging and the fights with the media?
“It’s exciting to finally have someone call them out on it,” Haynes said. “For years I screamed at the TV and said, ‘That’s not how it happened.’”
The two Sun City grandmothers are among what the polls say are the 30 or 40 percent of the country that form the Trump base. And for the record, they don’t believe the polls either.
“They said he wouldn’t win the election,” Wyllie said, “So I can’t take it really seriously.”
As for the health care bill proposed by Congressional Republicans and supported by Mr. Trump, it could cause millions to lose coverage.
“I think whatever plan they come up with, it’s going to be a plan that works for all people,” Haynes said.
Obamacare premiums have risen by 116 percent in Arizona -- exhibit A in the Trump administration’s argument for repeal.
But the current House bill to replace Obamacare could have dire consequences for Arizona, with estimates that 380,000 people could lose Medicaid coverage if that bill becomes law.
Republican state Rep. Heather Carter is concerned about what that could mean for her state.
“We’ve seen what happens in Arizona when they don’t have health insurance and they show up in the emergency room for care. It’s a disaster,” Carter told CBS News.
She supported the expansion of Medicaid that was part of Obamacare and says that part of the law should stay.
“There’s nothing wrong with taking a little bit slower of a look of the true impact to the states,” Carter said.
And that’s what CBS News has heard from many Mr. Trump supporters in Arizona: They would prefer the Republican Congress do the right thing on health care, but take more time to do it.