Paul Krugman: 5 million Trump voters ‘just shot themselves in the face’

In a short op-ed for the New York Times, economist Paul Krugman calculated the number of Trump supporters who may be losing their healthcare as a result of their vote.

Pointing to Trump’s choice of Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Krugman predicted that the president-elect’s choice “probably means the death of Obamacare,” adding that between 3.5 and 4 million people “just shot themselves in the face.”

According to Krugman, between about 6 million non-Hispanic whites gained insurance between 2013 and 2015 — gains that “will be lost if Price gets his way.”

Krugman goes on to say that 57 percent of “white insurance-losers” voted for Trump.

Whites without a college degree — much more likely to have been uninsured pre-Obama — gave him 66 percent. Apportioning the insurance-losers using these numbers gives us 3.42 million if we use the overall vote share, or 3.96 million if we use the non-college vote share.

He added that the one million Latinos who voted for Trump (according to exit polls) are also in trouble.

In announcing his pick this Tuesday, Trump said that Price “is exceptionally qualified to shepherd our commitment to repeal and replace Obamacare and bring affordable and accessible health care to every American.”

Trump still hasn’t made clear what his replacement will be.

Featured image via YouTube

Sky Palma

Before launching DeadState back in 2012, Sky Palma has been blogging about politics, social issues and religion for over a decade. He lives in Los Angeles and also enjoys Brazilian jiu jitsu, chess, music and art.

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