Christopher Ruddy, the CEO of Newsmax Media and a top backer of President Donald Trump, has had enough of House Speaker Paul Ryan and the conservative House Freedom Caucus.
In a new column published on Tuesday, Ruddy advises the president to ditch Ryan's Obamacare replacement plan, which he says only enhances the worst aspects of the Affordable Care Act.
"I am amazed that House Republicans haven't given up on their political death wish," Ruddy writes of the GOP's health care plan. "Interestingly, Ryan Plan II accepts key parts of the Obamacare law that benefit the insurance industry. But it ends the Medicaid expansion program that benefits the poor and keeps costs down. Instead, Ryan II forces poor individuals back into the private health insurance market with the help of tax credits. I wonder who that benefits?"
Instead of lining up behind Ryan's plan and trying to appease the House Freedom Caucus, Ruddy recommends that Trump throw conservatives under the bus and strike out on his own with a health plan aimed at winning Democratic votes.
"Trump won the presidency by trusting his own instincts and ignoring the GOP establishment, including its views on healthcare," he writes. "Donald Trump staked out the high moral ground by calling for a feasible system of universal healthcare to replace Obamacare. He shouldn't retreat for that no matter how much the establishment GOP dislikes it."
