A working-class man by the name of Brian Kline, who earns $11.66 an hour, is being treated for cancer thanks to Medicaid. However, during a recent CNN town hall with Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, Kline asked the HHS head, “Why do you want to take my Medicaid expansion?” which, according to everybody on the internet, was a reasonable and direct question.
Reporting on the news, a certain satire website came up with the article on how Price responded to Kline’s question by arguing that “it would be better for the national budget if cancer patients died more quickly.” However, when posting the article, the site mistakenly pictured Rep. David Price instead of HHS head Thomas Price as the individual responsible for the claim, which, understandably, caused a hailstorm online. But, that’s not where the story ends, ladies and gentlemen.
To make matters even worse, following the news, the Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price reacted publicly and ripped into his surname-sake David for “taking credit for other people’s hard work.” In an exclusive interview with Internet portal KnowMyRepublican.com, Price (Thomas) argued that it is “preposterous” that in today’s day and age people have “the nerve to flaunt somebody else’s feathers so shamelessly.” “To tell you the truth, I expected more from a fellow politician, and I was very surprised to learn about all of this,” he added.
Following a failed attempt to explain to the HHS head that his supposed initial statement was, indeed, satire, he waved in disbelief and said, “Bah, don’t give me that. I’m well aware of what I have and have not said, and while I’ve been around cancer patients for more than 20 years, I believe I still have some memory left in spite of being around all that chemotherapy radiation. I might be getting older and deeper into politics, but my brain still works pretty well.”
“The saddest part is, it’s not even about who said what at this point; it’s about the principle,” the HHS head added. “I’m aware [David] didn’t react in any way, but that’s exactly my point, that’s the whole problem. By having said nothing, he basically silently agreed with what was published. In this case, his silence was understood as his agreement and approval of what was said, regardless of the fact that it wasn’t true.”
“And by the way and on a completely unrelated note, I have to say – whoever came up with that idea was right on the money,” Price added. “I mean, I know I didn’t say it the first time, but hey – maybe I should have. At the end of the day, I have to hand it to them – it does make sense that the national budget would benefit from cancer patients dying more quickly. Maybe that’s exactly what we need,” he concluded.
