President Donald Trump’s much ballyhooed One Big Beautiful Bill Act could flush out the Republican congressional majorities in next year’s midterm elections, according to a political analyst.
The sweeping domestic policy legislation was signed into law earlier this month by the president after months of debate and revisions, and former Barack Obama campaign manager Jim Messina told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that Democrats had a powerful weapon to use as they try to win back the House and Senate.
“You look at the ‘big, beautiful bill’ and it is a polling nightmare,” Messina said. “It is one of the most unpopular things I have ever seen – 79 percent of Americans don’t want any cuts to Medicaid, and yet you just had $1 trillion cuts to Medicaid, and where does that money go to? It goes to tax breaks for the ultra-rich who don’t need it.
“So when you look at that, when you look at since Donald Trump came to office, in special elections across this country, Democrats are overperforming by over 10 points in these elections, and it’s really for two reasons. The first reason is a very fired up Democratic base, and the second reason, and why the Epstein thing means so much, is decreased Republican enthusiasm.
“That combination is how you get wave elections, and it’s how you get seats like [the] Texas Senate race suddenly coming onto the to the screen that usually aren’t available for Democrats. So you’re starting to see real districts all over the place.”
Republicans have performed better in elections where Trump’s name is at the top of the ballot, but that won’t be the case next year, he said.
“That’s what the 2018 election was about, that’s what the 2022 election was about,” Messina said. “Republicans in elections where Donald Trump’s not at the top of the ballot, it’s been a killing field, and, you know, Democrats had the same issue for Barack Obama. Barack Obama had this amazing support from his machine and his supporters, but in midterm elections, that wasn’t replicable, and this is exactly what’s happening in these local elections”
“Even in elections where Republicans have won … like the two Florida special elections, that Republican base was way down because Donald Trump is not on the ballot, and that’s the challenge that [House] Speaker [Mike] Johnson and [Senate Majority Leader] John Thune are beginning to look at in the midterm elections, and it’s one that is very daunting sitting here looking at it today,” Messina added.
Watch the video below or at this link.
– YouTube youtu.be