Up Close: Former New York Governor David Paterson

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Talk about on the job learning: the nation's 45th president, Donald Trump, had never been elected to anything before.

He was elected promising to unite Americans, unite Congress, make the world safer, reduce taxes, and improve health care for all.
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But he's found - to use his words - that some of these issues and roadblocks and realities are far more complicated than he thought.

Joining us to assess the Trump presidency so far is the 55th governor of New York, David Paterson.

In what was a rare bi-partisan event, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Republican, and New Jersey's U.S. Senator Cory Booker, a Democrat, appeared together last week to call for a new rail tunnel under the Hudson to end what has turned out to be a series of commuter nightmares.

Between two separate accidents at Penn Station and several stuck trains in the last few weeks, we have seen a lot of unhappy commuters.



Ironically, it was Gov. Christie who shut down plans for a new tunnel more than six years ago. Now he's had a big change of heart.
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With us is Robert Paaswell, distinguished professor at Grove School of Engineering at CUNY and an expert in transportation policy and planning, and transit operations.


Repeal and replace Obamacare. That mantra was a centerpiece of President Trump's campaign.

But it was health care and the attempt to change it that led President Trump to say "Who knew health care could be so complicated?"

Nobody, other than every other president since FDR who tried to institute health care reform.
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Now Mr. Trump is promising again that Obamacare repeal is on the way, but most people don't want it repealed.

So what happens now - meaning this week?



Joning us is Michael Sparer, chair of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.