Obama calls – On “Good Morning America,” Barack Obama called the Affordable Care Act his greatest accomplishment, saying it has helped tens of millions of people and remains under pressure amid efforts to weaken it. The comments came as the Obama Presidential Center prepare
Barack Obama didn’t frame his presidency as a story of a single election or a single speech. On Wednesday. June 17. as he spoke with Robin Roberts on “Good Morning America. ” he pointed to the Affordable Care Act as the defining achievement of his two terms—then delivered the harder part: a warning that the fight over it is not finished.
“For all the resistance from our political opposition. the Affordable Care Act has now helped 50. 60 million people. and continues to help people even though the current Congress has tried to weaken it and taken away some of the subsidies that were really helping a lot of working people. ” Obama said on the ABC News program.
“I’m very proud of the message we sent to the country that we’re representing everybody,” he added.
The interview is part of a larger moment for the Obamas. Obama appeared on the show with his wife. former first lady Michelle Obama. in what ABC says is the married couple’s first joint network TV interview since leaving office in 2017. Their conversation came ahead of the opening of the Obama Presidential Center on the South Side of Chicago. set for Friday. June 19.
In Chicago. the center’s design is built around movement—from the Obamas’ journey from the South Side to the White House. At the center’s groundbreaking in 2021. Obama said the facility wouldn’t be “an exercise in nostalgia. ” but “the world’s premier institution” for developing the next generation of civic leaders.
But when the topic turned to the country’s mood. Obama acknowledged what many people have felt in the gap between promises and progress. “People are a little discouraged right now,” he said. He pointed to cyclical change. saying he believes “there’s going to be a younger generation that pops up and there are going to be leaders who pop up.”.
Michelle Obama echoed the themes that fueled his first presidential campaign—“hope” and “change”—and suggested those messages still matter. even when politics feels stuck. “People just have to be fed up enough. They have to want more,” she said. “And I think the presidential center hopefully will remind people of just how close we are to moving this country in the direction that we want to move it in.”.
The Obamas’ focus on civic participation is expected to carry into the next stage of the rollout. The ABC News special, “The Obama Legacy: First Joint Interview Post-White House,” will be available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu on Thursday, June 18.
For now. the center’s opening timeline—Friday. June 19—meets Obama’s message about the enduring stakes of his signature legislation. While the Affordable Care Act has helped tens of millions. Obama said. it also faces ongoing political pressure. even as it continues to deliver coverage and subsidies to working people.
Barack Obama Affordable Care Act ACA Chicago Obama Presidential Center Michelle Obama Good Morning America Disney+ Hulu subsidies healthcare policy