Jeff Roe, the former presidential campaign manager for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), said that it was a "glorious day" after the news broke that Americans would be paying more for their health insurance.
On Monday, the Obama administration announced that premiums for health insurance purchased under the Affordable Care Act -- or Obamacare -- would to rise 22 percent on average. The Department of Health and Human Services also said that subsidy increases were expected to help offset the premium hikes.
Roe lamented to CNN that Cruz had not been able to capitalize on the news while he was running for president.
"It would be a very exciting day, I must admit," he smiled. "This is awful news for the Democrats. The centerpiece of the Obama presidency, a candidate running to be the third term of the Obama presidency, and you're just handed a gift. And everybody gets the [insurance premium] letters roughly the same day. So, it's like a direct mail piece in 300 million people's homes."
"It's a wonderful opportunity," Roe continued. "I would be pouncing up and down on this all day."
According to Roe, the Cruz campaign "always thought that this [election] should be a referendum on Obamacare because the Democrats have to stick with it."
"So it would be a wonderful day today," he insisted. "In fact, many people looked towards this day even during the Republican primary, thinking this will be in October, these are all going to come out, everybody's prices will go up, premiums will go up, co-pays will go up. So this would be a glorious day for the campaign."
"And I still actually think it will be for Trump because it's still part of the narrative that they're pushing."
Watch the video below from CNN, broadcast Oct. 25, 2016.
