Former President Barack Obama applauded late-night host Jimmy Kimmel for sharing the story of his newborn son’s heart surgery on Monday night.
Kimmel discussed his son, born last week, on his show to issue a passionate plea to Congress to make sure all Americans have access to health care. He also criticized President Donald Trump for proposing a $6 billion cut in funding for the National Institutes of Health.
“If your baby is going to die and it doesn’t have to, it shouldn’t matter how much money you make,” Kimmel said. “I think that’s something that whether you’re a Republican or Democrat or something else, we all agree on that, right?”
“We need to make sure that the people who are supposed to represent us ― the people who are meeting about this right now in Washington ― understand that very clearly,” he continued. “Let’s stop with the nonsense. This isn’t football. There are no teams. We are the team. It’s the United States. Don’t let their partisan squabbles divide us on something every decent person wants.”
Obama thanked Kimmel for making the argument, saying kids like Kimmel’s son are “exactly why we fought so hard for the ACA.”
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