Quick Take: Suffer the Children

I was saddened this morning to read of Jimmy Kimmel’s new son’s health struggle that led to the infant boy undergoing open-heart surgery. In the opening monologue of his show last night, Kimmel parlayed the experience into a political plea to support medical care for everyone:

Kimmel condemned President Trump for proposing funding cuts for the National Institute of Health, and he praised Obamacare for guaranteeing insurance regardless of preexisting conditions. “Until a few years ago, millions and millions of us had no access to health insurance at all,” Kimmel said. “Before 2014, if you were born with a congenital heart disease like my son was, there was a good chance you would never be able to get health insurance because you had a preexisting condition. If your parents didn’t have medical insurance, you might not even live long enough to get denied because of a preexisting condition.”

“Don’t let partisan squabbles divide us on something that every decent person wants,” Kimmel concluded. “No parent should ever have to decide if they can afford to save their child’s life.”

(Rolling Stone, May 2, 2017)

Steeped as I am in all things Trump, I can’t help but notice the contrast with our sitting President. Back in 2000, Trump cut the medical benefits to his nephew’s infant son, who was suffering from a serious medical condition that ultimately led to cerebral palsy. The move was a power play by Trump in a dispute over his father’s will.

Even when it comes to a sick baby in his family, Donald Trump is all business. The megabuilder and his siblings Robert and Maryanne terminated their nephew’s family medical coverage a week after he challenged the will of their father, Fred Trump.  “This was so shocking, so disappointing and so vindictive,” said niece Lisa Trump, whose son, William, was born 18 months ago at Mount Sinai Medical Center with a rare neurological disorder that produces violent seizures, brain damage and medical bills topping $300,000. […]

They offer a rare window into one of New York’s most prominent families, a world where alliances and rivalries are magnified by power, money and the tough-nosed tactics of Donald Trump. “When [Fred 3rd] sued us, we said, ‘Why should we give him medical coverage?'” Donald said in an interview with the Daily News last week. Asked whether he thought cutting their coverage could appear cold-hearted, given the baby’s medical condition, Donald made no apologies. “I can’t help that,” he said. “It’s cold when someone sues my father. Had he come to see me, things could very possibly have been much different for them.”

(Daily News, December 19, 2000)

Here at RAGEPATH, we’ll be joining the atheists in praying for Kimmel’s son, who will hopefully go on to lead a healthy and fulfilling life. We whole-heartedly endorse his plea to guarantee the health care of every sick infant under every circumstance. But also – significantly – we don’t think you should believe that President Trump wouldn’t hold the health of sick infants hostage to win a political fight. He’s done it to his own kin.