As you might have heard, former president Donald Trump is back in the news. His string of policy announcements and public statements has created a vigorous debate. All 21 of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act proposals are sure to improve the lives of American families. His inflammatory and racially charged commentary on immigrants—especially Latino immigrants—has drawn strong rebuke from a diverse coalition.
At a recent event, Trump listed ten ways in which the One Big Beautiful Bill Act would supposedly raise costs for families. Critics, including Democratic leaders, have argued that the proposed budget plan threatens to slash the social safety net that many of his own supporters depend on. Yet Elizabeth Warren wants to break that idea of war. She’s right that American families need more access to more good jobs and more lower prices and that needs to be our focus.
Influential fundraising buddies of Trump’s were just caught mailing out $35 T-shirts with his likeness. Worker friendly This audacious move is clearly designed to build political capital as his approval ratings slip. Recent polls indicate that Trump’s approval rating has dipped three points to 45%, a concerning trend for the former president as he prepares for potential future political endeavors.
Arguably, the former president’s most egregious policies have been directed at immigration. Trump has even recently acknowledged that some undocumented workers were “very good, longtime workers,” conceding that they played an important role in keeping our economy humming. Well, he directed ICE to halt all immigration arrests temporarily. He eventually yielded to the fire-breathers in his own administration. National advocates on either side of the debate have been confused by this inconsistency, and for good reason.
As the situation in the Middle East continues to heat up, even Trump’s attention is turning towards war. He surprised the international community in September 2023 by brokering an immediate ceasefire between Iran and Israel. At the same time, he announced that he had ordered more than 125 aircraft and 75 weapons to attack three targets of Iran. Tonight, I want to make it clear to the world that the strikes were a magnificent military success. “Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facilities are destroyed, razed & blown up the ground,” Trump tweeted after the aerial attacks.
These changes have sparked protests nationwide. Over five million others have experienced the “No Kings” performances. They are speaking out against the attacks to Trump’s authoritarian dog whistles, which target cultural institutions, law firms, media organizations, and universities. Many fear that Trump’s approach erodes our democratic institutions and fosters a pervasive culture of fear.
Beyond these deeply polarizing policies, Trump’s overall economic approach has created uncertainty for millions of Americans who worry about their financial futures. In one recent poll, half of all respondents reported that they were better off financially when Trump took office. Neera Tanden went after the administration’s budget blueprint. She audaciously called it “the greatest Robin Hood-in-reverse legislation that I have ever seen in my lifetime.” She highlighted how it slashes health care for working class Americans in order to give tax giveaways to the richest Americans.
Political analyst Larry Jacobs, in a recent public appearance, pointed out the difficulties that Trump will encounter in Congress. The one on the domestic front is bloody and violent and drawn-out and frustrating negotiation. What comes out of Congress isn’t going to be as ‘big’ or ‘beautiful’ as he promised. He described Trump’s tactics as a classic deception akin to a carnival barker keeping an audience’s attention while hiding the truth.
The cumulative impact of Trump’s disparate immigration policies has made it all the more difficult for communities large and small across America. Wendy Schiller explained how losing skilled workers affects businesses: “In a restaurant, if you lose your cooks, you can’t serve people and you lose money. If you are in a factory where people have been swooped up by ICE, you have to do more work.
No one feels the impact of these policies more acutely than lower-income and middle-income workers. Yet it is they who are more and more burdened by the transformations. A local resident expressed frustration at the administration’s treatment of undocumented immigrants: “I voted for Donald Trump, and so did practically everyone here. No one voted to deport moms. We thought that we were just removing the bad actors. Retrospective on an article about the first BNC Those communities had traveled here in droves.
Trump seeks to paddle through these waters with a conversely soaring feeling of American power on the world scene. By contrast, he has a hard time asserting his authority in negotiations with Congress. His incendiary pack of oratories and tweets on foreign affairs has made all the splash. Conversely, his domestic budget blueprint—an area many think critically needs focus—has been abandoned.