He had not set foot there since leaving the keys to Donald Trump in 2017: Barack Obama returned to the White House tonight at the invitation of US President Joe Biden (his former vice president) to discuss a topic they love , health insurance.
The former president spoke on Tuesday night (at 9.30 pm Greek time) to recall his most emblematic reform: the “Affordable Care Act”, better known as the “Obamacare”, which has been in force since March 2010. .
“If you can provide health care and better protection for millions of people, that is, to quote a famous American, a very … big deal,” Obama said.
“Affordable Care Act has been named in many ways, but Obamacare is the most appropriate one,” Biden said.
Joe Biden wants to take action as part of this reform, which has promised to rectify some of the huge disparities in access to care in the United States.
The US president unveiled a measure to correct an element of the health care law known as “family imperfection” that left family members of those who had access to health programs provided by the employer ineligible for certain grants.
– “Bromance” –
The communication policy for today’s presentation was carefully designed. If the weather were nice, the two men would talk from the White House spring garden. However, the rainy weather forced the two men to be in the most formal environment of the East Hall, one of the reception halls.
Barack Obama has become a kind of authority for the American Democratic Party and an idol whose simple presence attracts journalists and cameras en masse.
Next to him, Joe Biden, whose popularity is declining, wanted to present what Americans call “bromance” (a compound word from “bro”, meaning “buddy” and “romance” (romance) of two men, this Relationship was evident throughout Obama’s two terms with hugs and jokes.
The White House said the former and current presidents had lunch together today, reviving the weekly meal established by Barack Obama when he was in power, a ritual that Joe Biden continues with Vice President Kamala Harris.
“They are real friends, not ‘Washington-type friends’ and I’m sure they talked about what’s going on in the world as well as their family and personal lives,” said White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki.
Assuring that the relationship between Joe Biden and Barack Obama goes beyond the political expediency that directs so many relationships in the American capital, Psaki confirmed that the two men are called “regularly”.
Apart from the beautiful image, the message that the 79-year-old Democratic president sought to send is also political.
– Reforms –
Joe Biden and Barack Obama “have a common belief that the (federal) government can serve the Americans,” said Jen Psaki.
Having received harsh criticism at the time from the Republican opposition, “Obamacare” largely resisted former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overthrow him. This system has now entered American life and it is difficult to imagine a change, other than the more conservative portion.
Joe Biden, who came to power with high ambitions for social reform, had to relinquish them largely because of not only the raging Republicans but also the dissidents in his own camp.
The president now wants to pass at least a few excerpts from his original plans, and he has no right to be wrong if he wants to avoid a Democrat catastrophe in the November parliamentary election.
Joe Biden has vowed to continue to fight inequalities in access to care, for example by denouncing the prohibitive cost of certain drugs such as insulin – an outrage not felt in the United States, where many believe life is difficult. issue of individual foresight and possibly private charity, in which the state should not intervene.
Psaki promised that this appearance of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize winner would not be the last: “I believe that President Obama will return here to unveil his official portrait and maybe on other occasions in the future.”
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