Trump Says ‘All’ His Employees Struggle With Obamacare, Then Dials It Back

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump poses for photographs during an campaign event with employees at Trump National Doral, Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016, in Miami. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
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Flanked by dozens of employees of his National Doral Miami golf course, Donald Trump told reporters Tuesday that soaring Obamacare premiums were taking a toll on “all” of them.

Yet minutes later, the GOP nominee said the vast majority of his staffers don’t receive health care from the federal exchanges created by the President Barack Obama’s signature law.

“I can say that all of my employees are having a tremendous problem with Obamacare,” Trump announced, seizing on the news that premiums will spike by double-digits in some states next year. “What they’re going through with their health care is horrible because of Obamacare, so we’ll repeal it and replace it,”

The underlying implication of the comments seemed to be that the Trump Organization did not offer private health insurance to its employees. Asked after the event wrapped whether most of his staff receives coverage through the Affordable Care Act instead, Trump hedged.

“Some of them. Most of them, no,” he said, according to Politico.

The general manager of Trump’s Doral property clarified that the majority of his employees were covered by the company’s plan, and that only part-time or seasonal workers would have to use the Obamacare exchanges.

“99 percent of our employees are insured through our hotel,” David Feder told CNN. “Over 90 percent, without a doubt.”

According to CNN, Feder said that all Doral employees who work over 30 hours per week are eligible to participate in the company’s private insurance coverage. The company picks up “70 percent of premiums,” he added.

The Trump Organization did not immediately respond Tuesday to TPM’s request for comment on whether these policies applied company-wide, and about the relative proportion of Trump employees covered by the private insurance plan.

Employees at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas have fought since December to convince management to recognize their vote to join the Culinary Worker Local 226 and Bartenders Local 165. The push to unionize is motivated in part by those staffers’ efforts to secure health benefits.

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