"This Is A Sad Day For America" — MAGA Supporters Have A LOT To Say About Trump's "Big, Beautiful" Tax Bill, And It's Not What I Was Expecting
Donald Trump's self-described "big, beautiful" tax bill has officially passed the House of Representatives and is now headed to the Senate.
The legislation extends tax cuts that primarily benefit the highest earners, increases funding for the military and immigration enforcement, eliminates taxes on tips and overtime, reduces funding for Medicaid and food stamps, and ends tax incentives for clean energy.
Per an NBC report, the Congressional Budget Office expects the bill to add $2.3 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade, as the cost of tax breaks and new spending far exceeds savings.
The bill squeaked through by a single vote (215 to 214). All Democrats opposed it, joined by just two Republicans: Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio and Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky.
Ahead of the vote, Massie warned of the bill's consequences, calling it a "debt bomb ticking." He said, "I'd love to stand here and tell the American people, 'We can cut your taxes and we can increase spending and everything's going to be just fine.' But I can't do that because I'm here to deliver a dose of reality."
I'd love to stand here and tell the American people 'we can cut your taxes and increase spending and everything will be fine.'But I can't because I'm here to deliver a dose of reality about the ticking debt bomb known as the 'Big Beautiful Bill.' pic.twitter.com/eLT5GwNj11
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) May 22, 2025
C-SPAN / @RepThomasMassie / Via Twitter: @RepThomasMassie
"This bill dramatically increases deficits in the near term but promises our government will be fiscally responsible five years from now," he continued. "Where have we heard that before? How do you bind a future Congress to these promises? This bill is a debt bomb ticking."
To my surprise, Massie was not the only conservative speaking out about the bill. In the hours following the vote, a wave of conservative voices took to social media to express their thoughts — and they're not too thrilled, either. Here's what they had to say:
1."Where's the spending cuts we were promised?"
—Vag-etarian
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2."So adding to the debt is good now that we're in power?"
—Blown89
3."Oh boy, more needless spending."
—Nero_Ocean
4."Great. I like how they're just avoiding that it doesn't balance the budget. What are we even doing at this point with that? Just spending ourselves into oblivion? Fine. I'll say the unpopular thing — if that's where we're going, I might as well vote Democrat so it happens faster. I'm so incredibly discouraged at this point."
"It's great that we're getting a lot of this culture war stuff; I'm big on that, too, but if we don't get the deficit under control fast, all the rest of that won't matter in relatively short order. I need to start teaching my kids how to farm their own food at this rate because the depression that is starting to look increasingly inevitable with our fiscal behavior will make what happened in the 1930s look like the boom in the '50s."
—deadzip10
5."I think Trump could do it, if anyone had the momentum and control to drastically lower the deficit over time, I think it's this administration. Disappointed that isn't the case. The rich continue to get richer, that money exists out there, and it's not 'trickling down' anymore."
"We can't fix our country's problems by taxing Elon Musk more alone, but I feel like a change needs to happen in how we approach extravagant wealth. But poor people from West Virginia don't win elections; the rich do. I'm so jaded. Come on, Trump and co., you can do this!"
—MapleMonstera
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6."I encourage everyone to read the language of the bill, it feels rather reckless and does virtually nothing to help the middle/lower class."
—Simmumah
7."I'm all for lowering taxes, but drastically lowering them AND increasing spending is a recipe for disaster. It's like trading in your full-time job for a part-time job, and at the same time upgrading from a two-bedroom apartment to a mansion. Lowering revenue and raising spending is asinine."
—Zaphenzo
8."I'm a strong Republican and, in general, a big fan of Trump, but this is a sad day for America. Adding to the deficit is unacceptable."
—r_barchetta
9."This bill won't pass in its current form in the Senate, which is fine, I don't think it should. I don't know why we're masking the increase in spending with cuts to programs that benefit the poor. I encourage people to read the language on the work requirements part, it's very vague and hard to navigate when it comes to reporting."
"I'm all for cutting waste, fraud, and abuse on Medicaid and SNAP, but there are better ways to go about it than work requirements (I'm also all for those able-bodied being put to work, but the disabilities listed don't cover anywhere near all disabilities that could prevent someone from working). I think if the Medicaid/SNAP changes go through as is, the GOP will get mauled in the midterms. This bill is pretty reckless and feels like it's just trying to push something through ASAP, maybe Chip Roy was right (even though he folded under pressure)."
—Simmumah
10."If we just agreed that Republicans care nothing for fiscal responsibility in 2025, this bill would be easier to swallow. Yeah, a couple nuggets of good for the working class, but by and large, the only thing it really accomplishes is increasing the deficit and spending across the board."
—d_rek
11."Unfortunately, this is basically just more tax cuts for wealthy."
—superduperm1
12."STOP FUCKING SPENDING! Edit: I love the no tax on OT and no tax on tips."
—milezero13
13."I'm extremely disappointed with this bill because it adds [$2.3 trillion] to the debt over 10 years. Our country is heading rapidly into a debt crisis that will crush American living standards."
—RedditThrowaway-1984
14."After this bill, we're done spending and we're going to start paying down the deficit for real, right guys? Guys?"
—triggernaut
Well, I'm glad we can all agree on...something. But let us know your thoughts down in the comments.
Note: Some responses have been edited for accuracy and grammar.
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