Your Independent Journal from the Heartland
Republicans are in for a long, hot summer in Washington, and the blistering sun is only partly to blame. Two new polls show Americans souring on President Donald Trump’s extreme policy agenda, Max Burns noted at DailyKos.com (7/7).
The polls, from KFF and Fox News, reveal concerning trends about the Republican base, including that non-MAGA Republicans now oppose Trump’s signature legislation, the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which passed Congress July 3.
Five months into his presidency, voter confidence in the economy remains low. Despite Trump’s big talk of a new “golden age of America,” nearly 6 in 10 registered voters (58%) disapprove of his handling of the economy, according to Fox News’ poll. It also found that fewer than half (48%) say their family is holding steady financially.
If Trump’s troubles were limited to the economy, Republicans could distract voters by turning to the normally safe territory of immigration policy. But media coverage of Trump’s brutal deportation agenda has eroded voter support. Trump is currently underwater, on net, in his handling of immigration, according to election analyst Nate Silver’s polling average.
Trump’s problems multiply when voters are asked about his “One Big Beautiful Bill,” his Medicaid-slashing, debt-exploding budget plan. Polls have shown for weeks that most Democrats and independents oppose it, but new data from health policy outlet KFF shows that a third of all Republicans do too.
Overall, 61% of Republicans support Trump’s budget, but that support is concentrated in the party’s MAGA base. Meanwhile, 66% of Republicans who do not support the MAGA movement oppose the budget. Those frustrated Republicans open up an opportunity for Democrats in the 2026 midterm elections.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the party’s primary organization for electing Democrats to the House, plans to launch a nationwide media campaign tying vulnerable House Republicans to Trump’s anchor of a budget. That campaign joins an ongoing effort by the Democratic National Committee to fill swing districts with billboards and local advertising touting the budget’s attack on health care and social services.
“From now until November 2026, the DCCC will continue to communicate the harm this bill will cause,” the DCCC said in a memo. “Republicans will lose the [House] majority in 2026 and the Big, Ugly Bill will be the reason why.”
