Biden slams Trump as he distances himself from progressives: 'He thinks he's running against somebody else'

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Biden plans to build on ObamaCare with new public option, 'BidenCare'

Former vice president discusses his healthcare plan during the final debate of 2020.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden ripped President Trump for focusing on his attacks on Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders and other leading progressives during a clash about health care policy at the final presidential debate in Nashville, Tenn., on Thursday night.

The heated exchange occurred after Biden was asked to address Americans who are concerned about a shift toward socialized medicine under his proposed health care plan. When Biden said it was “ridiculous” to suggest his plan was a step toward a government health care takeover, Trump argued that leading Democrats, including Harris and Sanders, want “socialized medicine.”

“When he says public option, he’s talking about socialized medicine and health care,” Trump said. “When he talks about a public option, he’s talking about destroying your Medicare and destroying your Social Security. This whole country will come down. Bernie Sanders tried it in his state. He tried it in his state. His governor was a very liberal governor. They tried to make it work – it was impossible to work.”

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Biden, who earlier said Trump “hasn’t done a thing for anyone on health care,” fired back at Trump for focusing on other Democrats.

“He’s a very confused guy. He thinks he’s running against somebody else,” Biden said. "He’s running against Joe Biden. I beat all of those other people because I disagreed with them.”

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Unlike Sanders, Biden does not support a “Medicare for all” plan. Biden said his plan, dubbed “BidenCare,” will lower health care premiums, deductibles and drug prices for Americans. He supports a “public option,” where Americans can keep their private insurance or join a government plan.

The former vice president acknowledged his plan would “cost some money” to the tune of $750 billion over 10-year period.