A majority of roughly 61% of Americans has risen against US President Donald Trump’s signature ‘big beautiful bill‘ foregrounding funds for tax breaks and enhanced border security, among other things.
According to a new CNN/SSRS poll of 1,057 respondents conducted July 10-13 (3.5 margin of error), the US leader has been hit with a -16 net approval rating as 42% Americans approve of his performance in the second presidential term as opposed to 58% disapproving of his job.
Although it marks a one-point improvement in his approval rating since April, the poll also underlines that 6 in 10 Americans oppose his so-called federal budget megabill recently signed into law. On top of that, 58% asserted that the POTUS is taking this dropping the ball on federal government programs exercise too far.
Consequently, a 51% majority believes the ‘big beautiful bill’ will be a blow to the US economy. 29% think it will help it, whereas others are expecting little difference.
Democratic vs Republican opinions forming about Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’
A significant Democratic vs Republican divide has also emerged as noted in the poll numbers. A staggering 93% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning respondents said they oppose the bill, with 71% opposing it strongly. On the flip side, 78% of Republicans and Republican-leaning participants support the bill as a whole. Just about a quarter of them expressed strong support for it.
“There’s no way we can continue as a country with this kind of oppressive debt,” a Republican from Virginia partaking in the poll wrote in her answer. Despite being all in for Trump’s overall presidency, she did not emerge a fan of his federal budget bill.
The GOP-aligned backing of the bill was all thanks to taxes and immigration crackdown being the prime subjects of its focus. Nonetheless, 4 in 10 counted its contribution to the federal debt as a reason to go the other way.
Why do Americans oppose Trump’s bill?
Respondents also weighed in on whether it will leave their family better or worse off, with 37% counting on the latter and only 16% feeling good about it. The rest either feel more or less the same about it or haven’t heard enough to form an opinion.
Those backing the bill cited their reasons for supporting it as “permanent extension of the tax cuts passed in 2017, temporarily ending taxes on tips and expanded tax breaks for seniors and parents,” as reported by CNN. Those standing against it included those who oppose the erasure of incentives pushing for the use of clean energy.
A smaller 8-point margin opposition also arises out of the changes being made to social safety net programs, as the bill proposes work requirements for benefit (Medicaid) recipients be increased while federal spending on the benefits plummets.
Another firm reason for its opposition – by an 18% margin – simply points to Trump’s support for the GOP domestic policy bill.