Democrats are about to feast on Trump calling the GOP healthcare bill 'mean'

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Donald Trump Paul Ryan

REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

Donald Trump meets with Speaker of the House Paul Ryan on Capitol Hill in Washington.

House Republicans aren't too pleased that President Donald Trump privately spoke ill of their healthcare bill.

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After the president reportedly called the legislation "mean" and a "son of a b----" during a meeting with GOP Senators last week, some House Republican lawmakers were perturbed. This was, after all, a bill for which Trump personally lobbied, and he celebrated its passage with a Rose Garden ceremony.

Now, however, some Republicans fear the comment may actually come back to haunt them.

Democrats have begun to use the line in fundraising emails and will soon roll out ads featuring the comment to try and capitalize on backlash on the deeply unpopular American Health Care Act.

According to The Washington Post, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is planning to use the "mean" comment in ads against several House GOP lawmakers who could run for Senate next year in Pennsylvania.

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Similarly, several Democratic and liberal groups have used the language in fundraising emails since the reports surfaced.

According to Politico's Josh Dawsey and Seung Min Kim, a Democratic aide said the party also plans to continually bring up the comments in floor speeches and a variety of other media in the coming weeks.

A GOP aide told Politico, "You can almost see the ads being written already." Other lawmakers also expressed frustration about the line from Trump, according to the report.

Given the fact that the AHCA has consistently polled dismally, with many polls showing a majority of Americans disapprove of the House bill, the comments from Trump appear to be another concern that the healthcare debate could harm Republicans in the 2018 midterms.

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