Democrats see Trump’s big bill as key to their comeback. It may not be
so easy
[July 05, 2025]
By STEVE PEOPLES and HANNAH FINGERHUT
WINDSOR HEIGHTS, Iowa (AP) — It is big and it is beautiful, President
Donald Trump says.
But for many Democratic leaders, the tax break and spending cut package
passed by Trump's Republican allies in Congress on Thursday represents
the key to the Democratic Party's resurgence.
Even before the final vote, Democratic officials were finalizing
ambitious plans for rallies, voter registration drives, attack ads, bus
tours and even a multiday vigil, all intended to highlight the most
controversial elements of Trump's “big beautiful” bill: deep cuts to the
nation's safety net that will leave nearly 12 million more people
without health coverage and millions of others without food assistance,
according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
In political battlegrounds across Alaska and Iowa, Pennsylvania and
California, Democrats have begun to use the bill against Republicans.
Democrats are promising that the Republican president's domestic policy
achievement to date will be the defining issue of every major election
between now and next fall’s midterms.
“One thing is abundantly clear: Republicans own this mess and it’s an
albatross around their necks heading into the midterms,” Democratic
National Committee Chair Ken Martin told The Associated Press. “This is
the least popular legislation in modern history, and the more voters
learn about it, the more they hate it. That’s a clear directive for
Democrats -- we’re going to make sure every single voter knows who is
responsible.”
Even with early public opinion on their side, however, it's far from
certain that the legislation will be the political winner Democrats
hope.
The Democratic brand remains deeply unpopular, the party has no clear
leader, its message is muddled and core elements of the Democratic base
are frustrated and drifting. Some of the bill's provisions will not take
effect until after the 2026 election, so voters may not have felt the
full impact by the time they vote. At the same time, it's unclear how
many voters are paying attention to the Washington-based debate.
The Democratic super political action committee Priorities USA warned
this week that Democrats must work harder if they want their message to
break through.
“We can’t just assume that because we’re angry that the voters that we
need to communicate with are angry. Everyone needs to step up and
realize the enormous challenge that’s in front of us,” executive
director Danielle Butterfield said. “We’re nowhere near a good starting
place.”
The bill provides for $4.5 trillion in tax breaks that were enacted in
Trump’s first term and would have expired if Congress failed to act. New
breaks will allow workers to deduct tips and overtime pay. There are
$1.2 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and food stamps and a major rollback
of green energy investments. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office
estimates the package will add $3.3 trillion to the deficit over the
decade.
Democrats' challenge on display
Privately, some Democrats conceded that Republicans were smart to pass
the bill on the eve of a holiday weekend when fewer voters would be
paying attention.
As some Democrats in Washington predicted a political backlash across
America, the response was somewhat muted Thursday at a Democratic event
in Iowa, barely 10 miles from the State Fairgrounds where Trump later
drew thousands for an evening rally.
An audience of roughly 100 people listened as local Democratic officials
railed against the legislation and called on voters to oust Republican
Rep. Zach Nunn, the local congressman, for supporting it.
Audience member Michael Rieck, 69, said Iowa Democrats left him a
message about the rally, but when he went online to learn more, “there
was nothing.”
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A local resident listen to a speech during an Iowa Democratic Party
rally, Thursday, July 3, 2025, in Windsor Heights, Iowa. (AP
Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
“I texted back to them that I didn’t see any advertisement,” he
said. “They slowly corrected that. I’m still not impressed with what
they did to advertise this event.”
Rieck said he wants to see different factions of the party better
coordinate their message.
Progressive activists were moving through Minnesota in a big green
bus as part of Fair Share America's 29-stop “stop the billionaire
giveaway” tour. The group is focused on Republican-led congressional
districts where elected officials have largely stopped having
in-person town halls with constituents.
“We know we’re fighting upstream,” said Fair Share's executive
director, Kristen Crowell. "But when people hear exactly what’s in
this bill, they’re adamantly opposed."
What the polls say
The bill is generally unpopular, according to polling conducted
throughout the month of June, although some individual provisions
are popular.
For example, a Washington Post/Ipsos poll found that majorities of
U.S. adults support increasing the annual child tax credit and
eliminating taxes on earnings from tips, and about half support work
requirements for some adults who receive Medicaid.
On the other hand, the poll found that majorities oppose reducing
federal funding for food assistance to low-income families and
spending about $45 billion to build and maintain migrant detention
centers.
The price tag could be a sticking point. About 6 in 10 U.S. adults
in the poll said it was “unacceptable” that the bill is expected to
increase the U.S. national debt, currently at $36 trillion, by about
$3 trillion over the next decade.
But polling indicates that most Americans aren’t paying attention to
the nuances of the bill, either.
The Washington Post/Ipsos poll found that only about one-third of
U.S. adults have heard “a great deal” or “a good amount” about it.
Democrats are planning a summer of organizing
The Democratic National Committee and its allies plan an “organizing
summer” that will feature town halls, training and voter
registration drives in at least 35 competitive congressional
districts. The message will be focused heavily on Trump's bill.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, who leads the Democratic Governors
Association, said her party must keep the bill’s contents at the
forefront of people’s minds to ensure it’s an issue in the midterms
and even the next presidential election in 2028.
“We’ll just have to keep that on the radar,” she said.
Progressive groups are planning a “Families First” day of action for
July 26 in all 50 states. They will highlight people hurt by the new
Medicaid cuts and will hold a 60-hour vigil at the U.S. Capitol.
“We have made a promise to each other and to future generations that
there will be a safety net in place when we need it. And this is
what’s being ripped away. And people will not stand for it,” said
one of the Families First organizers, Ai-jen Poo, president of the
National Domestic Workers Alliance.
___
Peoples reported from New York. Associated Press writers Amelia
Thomson DeVeaux in Washington, John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, and
Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, contributed to this report.
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