According to a Washington Post/Ipsos poll conducted June 6-10, President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” — which narrowly passed in the U.S. House of Representatives, 215-214, and is now being considered in the U.S. Senate — is getting a negative response from many voters. The Post and Ipsos asked, “Do you support or oppose the budget bill changing tax, spending and Medicaid policies?” — and those either “strongly” or “somewhat” opposed it totaled 43 percent. Meanwhile, 34 percent of respondents had “no opinion,” while only 24 percent supported it.
But MSNBC’s Ryan Teague Beckwith, in an opinion column published on June 19, argues that the bill will become even more unpopular when voters learn more about what all is in it.
“President Donald Trump’s signature piece of legislation is not only unpopular, but it also seems likely to hurt his already-low approval ratings and take Republicans down with him,” Beckwith writes. “A recent Washington Post poll showed a plurality of Americans oppose the version of the Republican megabill that narrowly passed the House of Representatives in May, and that’s at a time when two-thirds said that they have heard little or nothing about the legislation. It’s only downhill from here.”
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Beckwith continues, “When given details about the ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ voters said they dislike most of the major provisions, such as cutting taxes for corporations and the wealthy, and spending billions to build new migrant detention centers. The few things they like, such as tax breaks for parents and on tipped income, are so paltry they aren’t likely to give Trump or the GOP much of a boost. And that’s before the bill has even been signed into law.”
Analysis of the bill, according to Beckwith, will only make it more unpopular.
“It would cause 16 million Americans to lose health insurance, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities,” Beckwith explains. “It would lead to 4 million fewer Americans getting food stamps, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. It would increase the deficit by $2.4 trillion over the next decade, according to the CBO.”
Beckwith adds, “The populist parts of the bill get more support in polls, but their benefits pale in comparison to those costs.”
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GOP lawmakers who support the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act of 2025, Beckwith predicts, will pay a price for it politically.
“The Republican megabill is unpopular now,” Beckwith stresses. “Imagine how much more unpopular it will be if millions more Americans can’t see a doctor or feed their children and fruit is rotting in the fields while immigration officers swarm farms, factories, churches, schools and courthouses around the country to deport hard-working immigrants without criminal records. If the bill passes in its current form, that will be Trump’s legacy. And it will be the legacy of every Republican who votes for it.”
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Ryan Teague Beckwith’s full MSNBC column is available at this link.
