(Photo courtesy of The White House)
Most Americans oppose Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, according to a recent Quinnipiac College poll. Democrats think they can ride this opposition to a House and even possibly a senate majority next year.
Don’t count on it.
As Karl Rove said on Fox News of the bill the other day, “The president needs to lead the effort to go out and explain it. He has the biggest megaphone in America. He needs to deploy it on explaining why this is the right thing to do and what it’s going to do for people.” Rove added, “The president needs to go out and say that people are going to lose their coverage are the able-bodied who refuse to work,” in addition to “illegal aliens” and others who “don’t belong in the system.”
That’s a lie, of course. Nonpartisan analysts, including the Congressional Budget Office, note that millions of working families and children will see coverage loss, not just the groups Rove emphasized. Medical providers are apoplectic over the legislation, as The Guardian reports:
“Pediatricians are losing sleep at night over this program,” said Dr Sue Kressly, the president of American Academy of Pediatrics, in a press call on Tuesday.
“There are going to be short-term impacts where we really see hungry kids and the impact on their growth trajectory,” she continued, “and then medium-term impacts, in which you stress the entire family and the family has to make decisions about – ‘Do I pay for food? Do I pay for safe housing? Do I pay for visits to the doctors?’”
Trump gets this, which is why he was out in Iowa moments after the bill passed, touting — err, lying about — it. In this, he has been helped by a right-wing media ecosystem and Republican legislators, some of whom went from trashing the legislation to embracing it within hours.
The truth is that unless something changes, this bill will not be the silver bullet Democrats think it is. First, its most noxious effects don’t kick in until after the midterm elections. Second, Republicans are just better at this than we are.
But they shouldn’t be. And since congressional Democrats refuse to tell the stories of the people who will be gravely harmed by this legislation, we will.
We are launching a program to tell the stories of real Americans who depend on these healthcare and food assistance programs to survive. They are the faces of this bill, not Donald Trump or his MAGA enablers.
If you are someone who worries about losing access to healthcare, nursing homes, food or other lifelines, please contact me and tell me your story.
If you are able to become a paid subscriber to Salty Politics, your money will go towards creating easily digestible narratives that can be repurposed for social media to put real faces to the horrors of this legislation.
Further Reading:
Politico: Trump is under water on some of his top issues — including immigration, poll shows
The Daily Beast: Karl Rove Warns GOP to Play Offense After Trump’s BBB Passes
Congressional Budget Office: Estimated Budgetary Effects of a Bill to Provide for Reconciliation Pursuant to Title II of H. Con. Res. 14, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
The Guardian: Republican cuts to food and health benefits ‘will kill’, advocacy groups warn
The Washington Post: The last breath of small-government conservatism
This Week’s Corporate Media Fail
If you read Thursday’s New York Times article of Trump’s rally in Iowa, you would have found Trump taking a victory lap over the Big Beautiful Bill, some “balanced” analysis of the legislation, a description of the weather and a bit of polling data. What you would not have found is any sign of the most chilling statement a president has ever made about his fellow Americans.
Speaking of Democrats at the rally, Trump declared, “I really do. I hate them. I cannot stand them, because I really believe they hate our country.”
You don’t have to guess what this kind of rhetoric by the most powerful man on earth does to his ginned up base. It puts a target on every Democrat in the country. It sows division and hatred. It is chilling.
If Democrats hate the United States and you are an American patriot, what do you do? Trump has given you the go-ahead to do your patriotic duty and harm the people who wish this nation ill.
To The New York Times, this is not newsworthy. To the rest of us, it is a screaming five-alarm fire. It doesn’t matter if you are a Democrat, a Republican or nothing at all. Once the most powerful person on earth says that he hates his political opponents and that they wish this nation harm, it sets a precedent for the next person in that office to do the same.
Something irretrievably broke over the weekend. The Times missed it. You shouldn't.
“When you buy apples, when you buy bacon, when you buy eggs, they would double and triple the price over a short period of time, and I won an election based on that. We're going to bring those prices way down." - Donald Trump, Meet the Press, December 8, 2024.
Below is the most recently available national data on the average price of apples, bacon, and eggs. It’s been five months and those prices are not “way down.” In fact, they are all way up.
Apples (Honeycrisp, per pound): $2.99 (up from $2.31 when Biden left office and up from $1.87 this time last year)
Bacon (sliced, per pound): $6.985 (May, 2025, up from $6.915 in December, 2024, which was Biden’s last full month in office)
Eggs (Grade A, Large, per dozen): $4.55 (May, 2025, up from $4.15 in December, 2024, which was Biden’s last full month in office)
Salty Monday:
The Kardashianization of Our Politics
Happy Fourth of July Week! In honor of the holiday, I am launching a 20% off sale for annual subscriptions to Salty Politics just for this week.
Salty Tuesday:
This is Really Frightening
Reminder! I am running a 20% off sale for annual subscriptions to Salty Politics just for this week.
Salty Wednesday:
Our American Values
This week only — a 20% off sale for annual subscriptions to Salty Politics. At a time when corporate overlords like Shari Redstone and Disney are selling out legacy media, please support independent media that tells it like it is — without fear or favor.
Salty Thursday:
What Democrats Can Do Now
This week only — a 20% off sale for annual subscriptions to Salty Politics. I would appreciate any help you can lend as I work to expand this platform and bring in other voices to join the Salty community.
Salty Friday:
On This Difficult Fourth
I started writing today’s newsletter many times and could not quite come up with what to say until I sat with it quietly for a few hours.
Bonus Content:
On Sunday,
and I launched a show to just talk about stuff. Not political stuff, per se, but just life and what it’s like living as Gen X and Millenial women, respectively. Thank you to so many of you for tuning in. If you missed it, you can catch it here. Stay tuned for a new episode soon.A Little Girl Gossip
Thank you to everyone who joined Michelle Kinney and me for our inaugural show about stuff. You know, the stuff that women go through as they get older, whether it’s dealing with kids, aging parents, menopause, the sandwich generation, or even venting about the stupid Bezos wedding that sent us over the edge.
On Monday, I went on MSNBC to call bullshit on the media’s constant psychoanalysis of Trump and the Republicans. I don’t really care why they’re voting to destroy America. I only care that they are. Stop trying to give Trump a pass by questioning whether he is really aware of the legislation he is signing. You can catch it here.
On Tuesday, I went on CNN to talk about Musk’s stupid war with Trump, which Musk will never win because Trump holds all the cards. Check it out here.
On Wednesday, we premiered another fantastic episode of Over It! If you missed it, you can catch it here:
On Thursday,
and I hosted a new episode of Pax Americana to discuss the latest on Trump’s sellout of Ukraine. Check it out here if you missed it.Pax Americana Episode 13
Thank you to everyone who joined Olga Lautman and me for this week’s episode of Pax Americana. Today was not just a typical Thursday. It was a day that will live in infamy because of the capitulation by the House of Representatives to Trump’s budget bill. This affects us both here at home and it affects are allies and enemies abroad. The votes of fewer than five hu…
On Saturday, Michelle, Tara, Jo and I hosted a pretty heavy Coffee and Conversation. If you missed it, you can catch it here.
Thanks for reading and watching. Hope you had a happy Fourth!
Stay Salty,
Julie
I appreciate what you said about tRump having to go out and "explain" the bill, but I think he will perceive that as having to "defend" it, and of course to him, it's simply perfect and any defense would be showing weakness on his part.
As for those delayed portions of the bill, Obamacare came loaded with them and it didn't stop the R's from hammering at them. If the D's can't make hay out of this bill, then they should get out of the kitchen entirely and let some new chefs in.
Hey, perhaps they can join the Muskrat's American Party!
Thank you for taking the lead on messaging. Something absolutely needs to be done in informing Americans how we will all be affected by this bill!