CNN's Rick Santorum lies about Republican opposition to protecting coverage for those with pre-existing conditions

Santorum: Democrats are “out there saying that Republicans are against, you know, people with pre-existing condition getting coverage. That's just simply not true.”

From the November 1 edition of CNN's New Day:

Video file

JOHN BERMAN (CO-HOST): It is interesting, as we watch this, Democrats want to focus on health care. They say they're focusing on health care. Rick, do you think that's an effective message for Democrats? Do you think that Democrats are scoring some points on that? 

RICK SANTORUM (CNN CONTRIBUTOR): Well, I think they wouldn't be doing it if it wasn't effective. But you don't want to talk about dividing. I mean, out there saying that Republicans are, you know, against people with pre-existing condition getting coverage. That's just simply not true. I don't know of a -- I mean, the president, even when he ran for office back in 2016, said he'd never sign a bill that doesn't do that, and the House passed a bill that covered pre-existing conditions. The Senate was doing the same thing. So again, you don't want to talk about divisiveness and misrepresenting what the other side is doing. Look, this happens in every election. And so this is -- you know, I was involved in how many races saying I was going to abolish Social Security and Medicare and throw grandma off a cliff. So this is not new, and both sides do it, and this is what happens in the last week of an election. 

Related:

Republicans trumpet pre-existing condition protections despite votes to repeal Obamacare

Previously:

Fox News has become a platform for Republicans to lie about their stances on pre-existing conditions

MSNBC segment fact checks GOP lies about support for pre-existing condition coverage

Trump administration threatens health care for 130 million people with pre-existing conditions; cable news barely noticed