President Donald Trump's voters are foreshadowing a midterm calamity for Republicans after their election lifeline was rejected by his base.
A new Politico poll conducted in July by the independent firm Public First found nearly half of Americans cannot explain the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — Trump's signature tax law.
Those who can explain it are far more likely to say it helped the wealthy, not them, reporter Bernie Becker found.
"And in a notable warning sign for Republicans, only around a quarter of people who voted for President Donald Trump believe the working class got substantial breaks from the tax law, signaling how low public opinion is of the bill among their own base," Becker wrote.
It amounts to "a frustrating situation for top Republicans," Becker reported. They rushed to finish the law by mid-2025 and have since tried to rebrand it as the "Working Families Tax Cuts."
"It also hasn't helped that Trump himself rarely discusses a law that he helped name," Becker reported, even as Cabinet members travel the country promoting its contents.
One in three Americans said the megabill hurt their bottom line, the poll found. More than half said billionaires should pay much more in taxes, the poll also found.
More than 40 percent of voters making over $100,000 a year said they had gotten help from the law — more than twice the rate of those making less, according to the poll.
Republicans faced a "similar problem in 2018," Becker noted — "voters rejected Trump and his policies," and Democrats reclaimed the House.
"The best time for successfully framing and reinforcing the benefits of the One Big Beautiful Bill were in the initial three months after it passed," Kevin Madden, a longtime GOP communications strategist, told Politico. "It's just a challenge in this crowded issue environment to re-engage on legislation from last year."
The poll found 57 percent of Americans say the conflict with Iran has made things more expensive for them, adding to the headwinds Republicans face before November.
