Rebranding Won't Make Trump Megabill Any Less Ugly

Republicans across Pennsylvania Avenue face a major political problem: the One Big Beautiful Bill Act lacks broad public support and could damage GOP midterm prospects in 2026. A KFF Health Tracking Poll finds 64% of the public views the bill unfavorably versus 35% favorably. Large majorities of Democrats (85%) and independents (71%) oppose the bill, while 61% of Republicans support it. Support is concentrated among MAGA-aligned Republicans (72%), whereas non-MAGA Republicans mostly oppose it (66%). Democrats emphasize the bill's regressive distributional effects, including Medicaid and SNAP reductions and greater gains for wealthy individuals, while Republicans pursue rebranding and denials about those impacts.

"Nearly two-thirds (64%) of the public holds unfavorable views of the "One Big Beautiful Bill" passed last month by the House, nearly twice the share who view the bill favorably (35%), a new KFF Health Tracking Poll finds. The budget reconciliation bill that includes tax and budget cuts - much of which affect health care - is viewed unfavorably by large majorities of Democrats (85%) and independents (71%), but favorably by six in 10 Republicans (61%)."

"Among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who identify as supporters of President Trump's Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, a large majority (72%) view the bill favorably. In contrast, most Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who don't identify as MAGA supporters view the bill unfavorably (66%). Democrats, moreover, are working hard to make the regressive distributional features of the bill (less money for poor and middle-class folks, particularly those dependent on Medicaid or SNAP, and a lot more money for rich folks) clear to anyone who listens."

Read at Intelligencer