>> The Republican plan to
repeal and replace Obamacare is
coming under fire.
>> NARRATOR: President Trump
had little patience for the
Republicans' ideological
squabbles.
He wanted a win, and quickly.
>> Are we even going to see a
vote on the Obamacare repeal?
It's the big question.
>> He sees, on paper,
Republicans control everything.
This should be easy, fellas,
right?
Let's get together.
We don't even need the
Democrats.
But the difference there is,
what the Freedom Caucus think is
acceptable is not in line with
what Paul Ryan and his
leadership thinks are
acceptable.
And so now we're fighting
amongst ourselves.
>> Lawmakers, many of them
members of the Freedom Caucus,
will be meeting with President
Trump, these are individuals who
have already expressed...
>> NARRATOR: But Trump relied on
his own abilities as a salesman,
and if Ryan couldn't sell the
bill, he would.
>> Trump said, "I can overwhelm
this town with my personality."
President Trump was trying to
overwhelm Washington.
>> I just want to say that
these are folks that were
either a "no" or a "maybe."
>> To consume Washington with
his spirit, his personality, his
willfulness to get things done.
>> All of these nos or potential
nos are all yeses.
>> That's the businessman in
him, that he understands the
backslap, the Oval Office
lunch, the Air Force One ride,
that personal attention, those
relationships, can largely help
pull one or two votes or make a
lasting friend.
>> ...sit-down with members of
the Freedom Caucus are vowing
not to vote...
>> NARRATOR: But the president
didn't seem to understand or
care about the details of the
bill he was trying to sell.
>> Trump is praising the new
legislation...
>> It was very striking, and I
interviewed a number of the
participants of these meetings,
just how little Trump understood
or really cared to understand
the key provisions.
He would just simply say,
"Look, guys, we need a win.
We need to put this win on the
board."
And he just seemed
uncomprehending and
uninterested.
>> The president was not
particularly engaged in the
policy details.
That was pretty apparent.
The president seemed to defer
to Congress, largely, and
basically, you know, "Whatever
you guys pass, I'll sign."
>> NARRATOR: Unable or
unwilling to get into the
specifics of the bill, Trump
struggled to win over the
Freedom Caucus and other
holdouts.
>> President Trump his entire
career had cut deals in
non-ideological situations.
Now he was confronted with a
totally ideological situation.
Winning over an ideologue's
not like winning over someone
in a real estate deal because
they have a core conviction
which may prevent them from
coming over to the other side.
It's not all transactional.
>> Here at the White House,
it is all hands on deck.
>> NARRATOR: The bill was
stuck, the president
increasingly taking the blame.
>> The question, can he get
enough Republican votes to pass
the health care...
>> NARRATOR: Frustrated, he
headed to Capitol Hill to
confront his party.
>> A growing number of
conservative Republicans are
now warning...
>> NARRATOR: No more
backslapping and cheerleading.
Now, an ultimatum.
>> Can you get the votes, Mr.
President?
>> Think so.
>> Finally, Trump kind of just
throws up his hands and says,
"You know what?
This is the ultimatum.
You have until this day.
You have this deadline, and if
you can't get it done, we're
moving on."
>> Mr. President, did you make
a persuasive case in what...
>> NARRATOR: It was classic
Donald Trump.
>> We had a great meeting...
>> NARRATOR: The Freedom Caucus
would either get on board, or
the president would walk away
from the effort to repeal
Obamacare and make sure they
got the blame.
>> The pressure was so massive,
and this was the atmosphere
that the Freedom Caucus was in.
They knew the spotlight was
theirs.
>> NARRATOR: At the deadline,
they decided to call the
president's bluff.
Ryan headed to the White House
to warn Trump that they'd
failed.
>> I'm told Ryan was ice-cold,
very calm throughout the whole
car ride and the visit to the
White House because he had to
convey a simple message.
He did what he could, but the
votes weren't there.
>> I was there, I was in the
Oval Office when he arrived.
Speaker Ryan was very candid
and very forthright.
He said, "We're going to pull
the bill.
We don't have the votes."
>> Donald Trump is a man who
expects action.
This notion of pulling a bill
is unacceptable.
"You told me we're going to get
it done."
He promised the American
people, "We're going to repeal
and replace Obamacare."
So when he hears, "We have to
pull the bill because we don't
have the votes," he's beside
himself.
>> NARRATOR: After Ryan left,
the president picked up the
phone to call the "Washington
Post," determined that he not be
blamed.
(phone dialing)
>> I get a call on a Friday
afternoon and it's President
Trump.
Trump says, "I've pulled the
bill."
He tells me the Republican
Party is broken.
"I don't need this broken
Republican Party," he said,
"if they're not going to really
help me, if they're not going
to get their stuff together."
What he really wanted was a
win.
He wasn't pushing for an
ideological win, he wasn't
pushing for a political win.
He wanted a win for Donald
Trump, and the Republican Party
failed him.
>> Congress failed to pass a
Republican bill to reform...
>> In the end, the
self-proclaimed closer couldn't
close the deal.
