Trump Wanted a Win, at Any Cost

At Politico, Rachael Bade and Josh Dawsey have a piece detailing the "inside story of how Trump and the Republicans got Obamacare repeal through the House. (Hint: It wasn't pretty.)." It begins thus:

Donald Trump had had it.

The Obamacare repeal bill that the president had just boasted was on the cusp of passage was suddenly in trouble again, and the president demanded to talk to the influential congressman who dropped a bombshell hours earlier with an announcement he'd be voting "no": Michigan Rep. Fred Upton.

Sitting in the Oval Office Tuesday evening, Trump dialed Upton in his congressional office. The president raised his voice and swore at Upton several times during a 10-minute conversation, sources familiar with the call said. But Upton stood his ground. He explained that he, like Trump, wanted to ensure people with preexisting conditions were protected, even quoting the president verbatim talking about the need to do so.

"I am not supporting this bill without a legislative fix," Upton said, according to a source familiar with the conversation.

Trump did not want to talk about the merits of the legislation — he didn't care much about those specifics, senior officials said. What mattered to him was how a failed vote would hobble his presidency and the ability to get other legislation through Congress.

He wanted a win.

And so he got one. A win for him.

It was certainly not a win for the American people, at least those of us who are not elected members of Congress who won't feel the pain of the legislation the Republican majority passed. But it likely won't be a win for them, especially if their bill becomes law, because it may cost them their jobs as angry constituents vote them the hell out.

There are a number of people, myself among them, who are determined to hold them accountable for their votes for this monstrously immoral piece of legislation, even if it does not become law.

But it was a win for Trump. And that is, quite literally, all he cares about. He doesn't care about the people whose health will suffer mightily, nor the people who will die. He doesn't even care about what it will cost members of his own despicable party.

He will sacrifice anything and anyone to get a win. Because the only person that has ever mattered to Donald Trump, and the only person who ever will, is Donald Trump.