President Donald Trump touted that he had common ground with progressive New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter Wednesday.
“Rep. Ocasio-Cortez is correct, the [Department of Veterans Affairs] is not broken, it is doing great. But that is only because of the Trump Administration. We got Veterans Choice [and] Accountability passed,” Trump wrote on Twitter Wednesday along with the quote “President Trump deserves a lot of credit” from Dan Caldwell of Concerned Veterans of America.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is correct, the VA is not broken, it is doing great. But that is only because of the Trump Administration. We got Veterans Choice & Accountability passed. “President Trump deserves a lot of credit.” Dan Caldwell, Concerned Veterans of America
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 24, 2019
Caldwell had appeared on Fox News Wednesday morning to react to Ocasio-Cortez’s application of the phrase “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” to the VA during a town hall in her district earlier in April. (RELATED: Trump And Washington Post Reporter Have Twitter Tiff Over Who Called Whom First)
Ocasio-Cortez said the VA provides “some of the highest quality” health care to veterans at the town hall, reported The Washington Examiner.
Surrounded by House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Phil Roe, Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin and military veterans, U.S. President Donald Trump holds up the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 after signing it during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House June 23, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“Here’s the thing, they are trying to fix it. But who are they are trying to fix it for, is the question we gotta ask. …They are trying to fix the VA for pharmaceutical companies, they are trying to fix the VA for insurance corporations, and, ultimately, they are trying to fix the VA for a for-profit healthcare industry that does not put people or veterans first,” she said.
Trump touted a measure he signed in 2017 in the Wednesday tweet. The legislation fixed long-running accountability issues and ensured that incompetent individuals failing to adequately serve veterans did not remain on the VA payroll.
Trump has repeatedly touted the measure, even using a famous catchphrase from his “The Apprentice” days.
“It’s called VA accountability,” he said at a June 2018 rally in Minnesota. “Now, you bring the person into the office and you say, ‘Jim, I’m sorry to tell you, you are fired. Get out of here.'”
Ocasio-Cortez’s office did not immediately respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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