logo
'Big, fat tax break': Vance starts push to sell signature Trump law amid polling concerns

'Big, fat tax break': Vance starts push to sell signature Trump law amid polling concerns

USA Today16-07-2025
After narrowly pushing President Donald Trump's signature second-term legislation across the finish line earlier this month, Republicans are now faced with the challenge of selling the new law.
Vice President JD Vance began that process July 16 with a trip to a blue-collar enclave in swing state Pennsylvania, where he touted the measure as a win for working families, even as some in his party opposed it because of big cuts to health care for lower-income individuals.
'If you're building here, if you're making here, if you're working in the United States of America, we just gave you a big, fat tax break,' Vance said during a speech at a machine shop in West Pittston.
Vance highlighted a new tax break for overtime pay and a program establishing $1,000 investment accounts for newborns, among other aspects of the new law.
Polling shows Vance and his GOP colleagues have work to do, though, in trying to convince many Americans that Trump's new law is good policy.
The law extends tax breaks on individuals and corporations that Trump passed in 2017, while adding new tax cuts. It also boosts spending on immigration enforcement and the military and makes deep cuts to the Medicaid health care program for the poor.
The Medicaid cuts generated opposition from some Republicans, and three voted against the bill in the Senate, requiring Vance to break a 50-50 tie. The bill then passed the House 218-214 with two Republicans opposed.
Multiple polls leading up to the vote showed the legislation was unpopular. A SSRS survey conducted for CNN after Trump signed the measure on July 4 found 61% of adults opposed the new law. A Harvard CAPS/Harris poll conducted from July 6 through 8 found voters evenly split on the legislation, with 44% in favor and 44% opposed, but opposition increased to 48% among those who had heard of the measure.
A majority of respondents to the CNN/SSRS survey said the tax measures in the law were a reason to support it. Meanwhile, a plurality of those surveyed said the law's changes to social safety net provisions, including Medicaid, were a reason to oppose it.
Republican lawmakers largely shrugged off concerns about the legislation as it advanced, saying it would prove out over time. Democrats have vowed to make the new law a major campaign issue, saying it disproportionately benefits the rich and hurts lower income people.
The messaging battle over the law will play out ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Democrats believe backlash to the law could help them pick up seats.
'Republicans are celebrating after they gutted healthcare in their deeply unpopular bill,' House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote on social media the day after Trump signed the measure. 'The American people will remember the cruelty of it all next November.'
Vance's first trip to sell the legislation was to the northeastern Pennsylvania district held by Republican Rep. Rob Bresnahan, who is a prime target for Democrats after he flipped a blue seat in 2024.
Both Vance and Trump spoke on July 16 about doing more to pitch the new law.
'We'll start talking about it, but, once we do, I think we're going to have the greatest midterm that you've ever seen,' Trump said during a White House event.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Kamala Harris' latest Stephen Colbert flop shows exactly what's wrong with both of them
Kamala Harris' latest Stephen Colbert flop shows exactly what's wrong with both of them

New York Post

time8 minutes ago

  • New York Post

Kamala Harris' latest Stephen Colbert flop shows exactly what's wrong with both of them

Kamala Harris' visit Thursday to Stephen Colbert's 'Late Show' was a fine reminder of why both of them are failures. Mind you, this marked Harris' eighth Late Show appearance — one more illustration of the futility of doing the same thing over and over and somehow expecting different results. What made her think this would help promote her new book? Advertisement The marquee moment was her inability to say who's leading the Democratic Party just now — which was actually simple honesty, since neither Dems nor Republicans have clear leaders these days unless it's a sitting president. But she couldn't explain that simple truth, nor did Colbert show any sign of getting it as he pushed for an answer. Her incoherence was part of another classic Kam performance, full of word salads and non-answers. Advertisement So why did Colbert even bring her on a supposed comedy show? Because he's followed most of the late-night crew down the 'we need to promote liberal politics' toilet, of course — hosting 176 Dem politicians and one Republican since 2022, and hewing one side of the aisle every minute in between. That formula earned him cancellation and may well take out all his peers. It's another puzzle of modern life that so much of the entertainment industry somehow forgot that sanctimoniousness (political or otherwise) is the enemy of humor.

JD Vance ‘obsessed' with UFOs, says he plans to get ‘to the bottom' of mystery sightings
JD Vance ‘obsessed' with UFOs, says he plans to get ‘to the bottom' of mystery sightings

New York Post

time8 minutes ago

  • New York Post

JD Vance ‘obsessed' with UFOs, says he plans to get ‘to the bottom' of mystery sightings

Take me to your leader! Vice President JD Vance made it known that he is 'obsessed' with and 'particularly focused' on UFOs — announcing on a recent podcast that he will spend time in the next weeks looking into the subject matter. 'Like I'm obsessed with the whole UFO thing. 'What's actually going on?' 'What were those videos all about?' 'What's actually happening?'' the veep stated in unprompted comments on the Ruthless Podcast episode released Friday. 3 Vice President JD Vance with Ruthless Podcast cohost Josh Holmes. Disclosure Diaries, /X 'I haven't gotten to the bottom of it yet but we're only six months in, we've been very busy,' Vance said with a chuckle. 'The August recess is in part me gonna try to dive to the bottom of the whole UFO thing from last year.' It is unclear whether the Ohio native was referring to the New Jersey drone phenomenon that began on Nov. 13 last year with sightings of unidentified aircraft reportedly the size of cars hovering over a Picatinny Arsenal. 3 Vance stated he would 'dive to the bottom' of the UFO issue during congress' August recess. ktsdesign – The Trump administration cited the Federal Aviation Administration in a report earlier this year that stated the agency had no record of any anomalous sightings during the period of heightened public attention. Ruthless Podcast cohost Michael Duncan then opened up about his own interest in the once-taboo subject matter. 'I've been to Roswell,' Duncan confessed. 'I've done the tours. I've done the whole thing.' 'Did you see any aliens?' Vance asked. 'No. I saw the hangar where they were,' Duncan responded sincerely. 3 The casual conversation brought out laughs, especially here, where Duncan claimed alien bodies were stored at a hangar in Area 51. Disclosure Diaries, /X 'Once I get to the bottom of it, if there's anything there, I'll make sure you're the first to know,' Vance replied. It is unclear the extent to which Vance was joking in the casual conversation. Another member of the Trump administration, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, takes UFOs very seriously. Then-senator Rubio claimed top US officials have 'first-hand knowledge' of a secret Pentagon crash retrieval program back in a 2023 interview with NewsNation. Rubio sat down for an interview for upcoming documentary 'Age of Disclosure' which has been much ballyhooed by disclosure advocates. The VP's office did not respond to The Post's request for comment.

The Supreme Court just dropped a hint about its next big Voting Rights Act case
The Supreme Court just dropped a hint about its next big Voting Rights Act case

Politico

time9 minutes ago

  • Politico

The Supreme Court just dropped a hint about its next big Voting Rights Act case

The order came in a case challenging Louisiana's congressional map, which contains two majority-Black districts out of the state's six House seats. The court heard arguments in the case in March and had been expected to rule by June. But on June 27, the justices punted the case into their next term and ordered that it be reargued. Now, Friday's order loosely sketches the terrain on which the justices want further arguments: the claim that the longstanding practice of drawing majority-minority districts under the Voting Rights Acts may be unconstitutional because of its focus on race in drawing district lines. The voters challenging Louisiana's map had already advanced that constitutional claim in the case, but the justices' call for further briefing on the issue suggests they want to consider the claim more fully. Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, a landmark law passed during the civil rights era, generally prohibits race-based discrimination in voting laws and practices. In redistricting, the law is used to protect against racial gerrymandering that would unfairly dilute the voting power of racial and ethnic minority voters. States across the country routinely seek to comply with Section 2 by drawing congressional districts where minority voters can elect their chosen candidates. Louisiana's previous map contained only one majority-Black district, even though Black residents make up about a third of the state's population. After a court struck down that map for likely violating the Voting Rights Act because it diluted the power of Black voters, the state's Republican-controlled legislature drew the new map with two majority-Black districts. A group of voters — who self-identified as non-Black — challenged the new map. That's the case now before the Supreme Court. A ruling overturning the current map could result in Republicans picking up an additional congressional seat in Louisiana. The state's two majority-Black districts are both represented by Democrats, while the other four districts are represented by Republicans.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store