During Thursdays audio-only White House daily briefing, deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders received a question from CBS Radio News that touted far-left Senate protesters that have claimed that the proposed Senate Republican health care bill to repeal and replace ObamaCare would cause people to die.
“I wanted to ask just about some of the reaction from the left that we've seen this week,” White House correspondent Steven Portnoy began to which Huckabee Sanders joked that she’s “sure it’s friendly.”
Portnoy continued, promoting this nonsense from the militant left that a Republican health care plan would kill people:
Well, our microphones caught a woman who was dragged off from McConnell's office this morning. She was screaming, my child is going to die, and my family is going to die and they don't give a damn about it. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut said this week the Democrats are going to lie down on the train tracks to stop this bill from passing. What do you make of all that? What's your reaction to it?
Huckabee Sanders immediately responded, in part, that she “certainly think[s] that not just Republicans but I think any American would certainly not support something that allows a child to die and the goal is, again, to look for the best health care possible that actually provides care, not just gives insurance, but actually provides care.”
Earlier, NBC News chief White House correspondent Hallie Jackson framed the media’s narrative in the briefing that the health care questions would all be from the left:
And on that final product, the President — the Senate bill — by analysis so far, cuts -Medicaid, it doesn't look like it will cut deductibles for folks. Does that have enough heart? Does the President think that is a bill that is not mean?
Further indicating the reality that this new proposal was created by Senate GOP leadership and not the White House, Huckabee Sanders maintained that President Trump is “going to continue that process” of negotiations “with both House and Senate members and his administration until we get the best bill that we can.”
Here’s the relevant portions of the transcript from CNN’s Wolf on June 22:
CNN’s Wolf
June 22, 2017
1:53 p.m. EasternHALLIE JACKSON: And on that final product, the President — the Senate bill — by analysis so far, cuts -Medicaid, it doesn't look like it will cut deductibles for folks. Does that have enough heart? Does the President think that is a bill that is not mean?
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS: I haven't had that conversation but I do know that he made a statement earlier that said this is a negotiation and so, he's going to continue that process with both House and Senate members and his administration until we get the best bill that we can.
(....)
1:57 p.m. Eastern
STEVEN PORTNOY (CBS News Radio): I wanted to ask just about some of the reaction from the left that we've seen this week. Our microphones —
HUACKBEE SANDERS: I'm sure it's friendly.
PORTNOY: Well, our microphones caught a woman who was dragged off from McConnell's office this morning. She was screaming, my child is going to die, and my family is going to die and they don't give a damn about it. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut said this week the Democrats are going to lie down on the train tracks to stop this bill from passing. What do you make of all that? What's your reaction to it?
HUCKABEE SANDERS: I certainly think that not just Republicans but I think any American would certainly not support something that allows a child to die and the goal is, again, to look for the best health care possible that actually provides care, not just gives insurance, but actually provides care. That's been a goal from the administration on front end and we're looking for ways to do that. Right now, we know ObamaCare is not sustainable. It is literally collapsing under itself. Providers are pulling out every single day, out of states. We are down to multiple counties that don't have providers, and we are working day in, day out to make sure we have the best piece of legislation possible. If Democrats really cared, they would try to be involved in on the process. They said from day one that they didn't want to be in the conversation if it had anything to do with repealing or replacing ObamaCare. I think that it's sad that they've chosen to play partisan politics instead of trying to have a seat at the table.
