Kamala Harris says she will cut healthcare programs if Trump is re-elected

Written by: James Oliphant and Jeff Mason

MADISON, Wisconsin (Reuters) – Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris warned voters on Thursday that Republican Donald Trump and his allies would cut healthcare programs if he wins the White House and said her comments at a Wednesday rally were offensive to women.

In a brief press conference, Vice President Harris reminded voters that former President Trump sought to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, during his 2017-2021 presidency.

“This election is about healthcare for all Americans,” he told reporters in Madison, Wisconsin.

In response, Trump said he never wanted to get rid of the program. After the woman made this statement, he said on the Truth Social platform: “I never talked about doing this, I never even thought about such a thing.”

The Affordable Care Act of 2010 provides coverage to approximately 40 million Americans as part of the nation’s health insurance programs. The law, which was a political liability for Democrats when it became law in 2010, is now very popular with the public.

Opinion polls show a historically close contest between Harris and Trump, with the outcome of Tuesday’s US presidential election likely to be decided in seven battleground states.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll in October found the race sharply divided along gender lines; Among women, Harris was ahead by 12 percentage points, and among men, Trump was ahead by seven percentage points.

Harris has made abortion rights a cornerstone of her campaign, while Trump has promised to significantly reduce immigration.

“Whether women like it or not, I’ve got to protect them. I’m going to protect them from immigrants. I’m going to protect them from foreign countries that want to hit us with missiles and a lot of other things,” he said at a Wednesday rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Harris told reporters she found the “like it or not” comment offensive.

“I actually think it’s very offensive in terms of women not understanding their own agency, their authority, their rights, and their ability to make decisions about their own lives, including their own bodies,” she said.

TRUMP’S CAMPAIGNS IN NEW MEXICO

Trump flew to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to stop campaigning in the state where he lost by 10 percentage points in 2020. Strategists from both parties say this year is not competitive either.

“They all said, ‘Don’t come,'” he said. “‘You can’t win New Mexico.’ “I said, ‘Look, your votes were rigged, we can win New Mexico.'”

Trump said without providing evidence that he expected fraudulent voting in Tuesday’s election and repeated his claims of fraud in 2020. Harris’ campaign said she was laying the groundwork for another stolen election claim if she loses.

Harris flew to Phoenix for a rally later in the day with stops in Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada.

Trump was supposed to be in Henderson, a suburb of Las Vegas, after his campaign.

Nearly 63 million Americans have already voted, according to the University of Florida Election Lab.

Nevada’s early voting results so far show promising results for Republicans, according to political commentator Jon Ralston.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason and Steve Holland; Additional reporting by Katharine Jackson, Eric Beech, Doina Chiacu, Andy Sullivan, Stephanie Kelly and Alexandra Ulmer; Writing by Andy Sullivan and Costas Pitas; Editing by Scott Malone and Howard Goller)