Barack Obama returned to the White House and claimed his health law in one act with Joe Biden

Barack Obama returned to the White House on Tuesday for the first time since he left the US presidency and did so to vindicate the cornerstone of his legacy, the health reform that has covered millions of people, known as “Obamacare.”

More than five years after passing the relay to Donald Trump, Obama triumphantly entered the same room of the White House where he played so many acts during his eight-year term, and returned to the presidential podium in the middle of a very long standing ovation. “It's good to be back in the White House,” said the former president (2009-2017).

The jokes soon came: Obama first referred to the current president, Joe Biden, as “vice president”, the position he held during the eight years of his term, and then approached him to give him a hug and corrected: “My President, Biden.”

He also made the public laugh when he commented that things have changed since he left the presidential mansion: “There is a cat running around here, and I can guarantee that (my dogs) Bo and Sunny would not have been amused.”

As Obama captivated the room, Biden and US Vice President Kamala Harris were smiling standing to their right, aware that the Democratic Party needs the popularity of the former president to avoid bad results in the November legislative elections.

“We have a story to tell, all we have to do is tell it,” Obama said at the end of the event, asked about his party's prospects in those elections, which are likely to result in a loss of Democratic control of the Lower House.

Democrats are confident that Obama will be as involved in that election campaign as he did in 2020 and help offset Biden's low popularity, which is around 41%, weighed down by the burden of inflation and other problems arising from the pandemic.

Biden seemed to enjoy Obama's visit, whom he hugged a couple of times during the event, and said he felt “like the old days.” “We just had lunch together and we weren't sure where everyone should sit,” the president joked, referring to Obama's “number two” position he used to hold.

Since leaving the White House in Trump's hands, Obama has repeatedly made clear his concern about his successor's enormous influence on the Republican Party. “I'm just another citizen now. But I am still more than interested in the direction of our democracy,” he said in an apparent allusion to Trump, which sparked laughter and some applause among the public.

The goal of Obama's return was to promote the 2010 health reform, popularly known as Obamacare and which for more than a decade has been the target of harsh attacks by the Republican Party, to the point that it has reached the Supreme Court three times.

“Today, the Affordable Care Act (official name for Obamacare) has not only survived, but is also damned popular,” the former president celebrated.

More than 31 million people currently benefit from one of Obamacare's discounted health insurance, which allowed access to health coverage to be expanded in a country where there is no public health system and half the population gets that service thanks to the company where they work.

Obama described that reform as one of the greatest sources of pride in his time at the White House, recalling that negotiation was difficult and didn't get everything he wanted, but it had an “impact on millions of lives” and that's what public service is all about.

The former head of state wanted to give part of the credit to Biden, under whose mandate a record number of Americans affiliated with Obamacare health insurance has been achieved.

The president later said in his speech that the reform is “stronger than ever” today and announced a plan with which he hopes to get 200,000 more people in the country to get health coverage for the first time and that another million people pay less for their health insurance.

Under that bill, which will take effect in 2023, families who spend more than 10% of their total household income on health coverage will be able to receive “financial assistance” to purchase low-cost health insurance through the Obamacare Marketplace.

(With information from EFE)

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