Unearthed debate clip goes viral against Dems as illegal immigrant health coverage becomes top issue

As the federal government shutdown continues, a clip from the 2019 Democratic presidential primary went viral when the candidates were asked if they support providing healthcare to those in the country illegally.

"Is JD Vance a liar or just woefully ignorant when claiming that Democrats want to give health benefits to undocumented immigrants?" disgraced ex-Democratic Minnesota Sen. Al Franken posted to X on Wednesday, leading to the clip being posted in the comments by one user.

"Raise your hand if your government plan would provide coverage for undocumented immigrants," NBC News anchor Savannah Guthrie asked while moderating the June 2019 debate followed by all ten Democrats on stage raising their hands.

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Franken’s post triggered a range of responses, including from conservatives.

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"You should stick to intimate photography," GOP communicator Matt Whitlock posted on X, referring to the disgraced ex-senator's scandal that included a photo of him smiling while posing and groping radio host Leeann Tweeden, who was sleeping in the photo.

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"Why don’t we let Democrats answer that?" Heritage Action said, posting the debate clip. 

The clip, which included multiple current members of Congress like Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., also garnered the attention of billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who posted "lol" in response to the debate video, which means "laugh out loud."

Part of the ongoing government shutdown debate centers on subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, which would lead to a rise in premiums that opponents say prove that the program is unsustainable.

Illegal immigrants are unable to get insurance on the ACA marketplace, but Emergency Medicaid is covered as well as several states that use state taxpayer dollars for illegal immigrants to enroll in Medicaid.

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However, California was once the subject of a federal audit where they were recommended to refund over $52.7 million in "improperly claimed" medical costs for those with "unsatisfactory immigration status." 

"Democrats are now trying to run away from their RIDICULOUS $1.5 Trillion big government spending bill — now that Americans are learning what’s in it," House Speaker Mike Johnson posted to X on Thursday. "Some Democrats now claim they don’t want illegal immigrants on Medicaid — but their previous votes, and the ACTUAL LANGUAGE of their current bill, say otherwise."

However, some Democrats have also criticized Republicans for bringing up state-based Medicaid programs that offer coverage to illegal immigrants.

"This isn’t funded by the Federal Government or ACA Tax credits.  [The Vice President] is lying again. However if he wants to tell the GOP to write a bill to exclude illegal immigrants from buying on the market and restore ACA tax credits to 24 million Americans, I would be game," Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., said in response to a post from Vice President JD Vance, which included a screenshot showing New York’s public health insurance coverage for "undocumented immigrants over age 65."

As of Thursday afternoon, it’s unclear when the shutdown will end.