President largely sidesteps the bully pulpit in pushing health-care bill
With the Republican push to revamp the Affordable Care Act stalled again, even some allies of President Trump question whether he has effectively used the bully pulpit afforded by his office and are increasingly frustrated by distractions of his own making.
.. The lackluster sales job, combined with recent controversial tweets and public statements targeting the media, has diminished the focus on the president’s leading legislative priority at a key juncture in the Senate, allies and analysts say.
“It’s a mystery,” said Barry Bennett, a Republican operative who advised Trump’s campaign last year and remains close to the White House. “I don’t know what they’re doing.”
.. Trump’s public efforts to dismantle the health-care law, however, contrast sharply with President Barack Obama’s efforts to build support in advance of its 2010 passage. Obama gave a joint address to Congress on health care. He fielded questions at town hall meetings around the country. And he even bantered on live television with hostile lawmakers at a Republican retreat.
.. Not only has Trump been unsuccessful at swinging public opinion toward the legislation, but also “he hasn’t really tried that much,”
.. It’s not hard to imagine other things Trump could be doing to try to boost support for the GOP plan among the public and, by extension, on Capitol Hill, Bennett said.
Trump could make much better use of Twitter, urging his 33 million followers to call their senators and ask them to back the GOP bill, Bennett said... Trump could have visited several states last week, holding events that highlight the sharp rise in premiums under Obamacare.. “You use the model that works for you,” Spicer said, noting that Trump has advanced a health-care bill further in the process at this point in his term than Obama. The ACA did not pass until the second year of Obama’s first term.“We’ve been more efficient,” Spicer said.