On the same day that the United States Senate cast a crucial procedural vote that could lead to abolishing the nation’s health care law, the Affordable Care Act, Donald Trump will hold a campaign rally that will live stream from the Trump stronghold of Youngstown, Ohio, on Tuesday. A live stream of the Trump speech, coming just a day after Trump delivered a controversial speech to the Boy Scouts of America, may be viewed by scrolling down on this page.
The Trump campaign rally is scheduled to get underway at 7 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 4 p.m. Pacific, at Covelli Centre in Youngstown, about four hours after the Senate cast a razor-close vote to proceed with debate on whether or not to repeal the Affordable Care Act, better known as “Obamacare;” the signature legislation passed during the term of President Barack Obama.
An actual vote on whether to repeal “Obamacare” will likely take place later this week. On Tuesday, the Senate split 50 votes to 50 on the move to proceed with debate on repeal. All 46 Senate Democrats plus the Senate’s two independents — Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine — voted against moving ahead with the repeal debate. Two Republicans also voted “no,” breaking ranks with their party and with Trump, who has demanded that Republicans show “loyalty” to him by voting in favor of repealing the Affordable Care Act.
Watch a live stream of Trump’s Youngstown rally celebrating the Senate vote by clicking on the video below, courtesy of Right Side Broadcasting.
Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska were the two GOP members joining Democrats in the “no” vote. In cases of a tie vote in the Senate, the vice president is called upon to cast a tie-breaking vote, which Mike Pence did, giving the “no” vote a 51-50 majority win.
Youngstown is considered a bellwether of how white working class voters will tilt in presidential elections, and Trump visited the city — with its small population of only 60,000 residents — three times during his 2016 presidential campaign. Nonetheless, the city voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Youngstown voters worry about how Trump’s effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act will affect their lives and their own health care. In interviews with the Associated Press , area residents expressed mixed opinions about Trump and his health care repeal push.
Jeni and Kevin Potter, whose 13-year-old daughter Erin is a three-time leukemia victim, told the AP that they might be forced to move to Canada — which has a national health insurance program — or the state of Massachusetts, which has its own state-level health care program similar to “Obamacare,” if the health care repeal strongly backed by Trump passes and is signed into law.
By contrast, 72-year-old Judy Martin told the AP that even though she has spent her entire life savings after working 51 years in a factory on medical expenses and now spends $400 of her $1,500 monthly Social Security benefit on medications and other health care costs, she believes that Trump will lower her medical expenses “and that he will take care of the little people.”
[Featured Image by Carolyn Kaster/AP Images]
