Trump's "Big Ugly"
Most Americans didn't wanted to see it, but Trump and Republicans forced it down our throats anyway
Well, it’s official. Republican lawmakers have once again handed Donald Trump a huge victory, even if they know it will be bad not only for Americans, but pretty much the entire world. Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”—that’s its official name, but from here on out I will refer to it simply as “Trump’s Big Ugly”—was deeply unpopular, even among many members of his own party. And for good reason. Here are a few of the most negative aspects of this bill.
Cuts to Medicaid that will end insurance coverage for 11 million of the most vulnerable Americans
Cuts to SNAP benefits will mean more people go hungry in one of the most resource-rich nations on earth
Rolls back almost every piece of legislation created to fight climate change and improve environmental health
Tax cuts (mostly for the ultra wealthy) that create a net deficit of $3 trillion over the next 10 years
The cost to attend college, which is already too high, will climb
Most of the damage will occur after midterms
There are many sources much more informed than myself that outline all the disastrous consequences of Trump’s Big Ugly. (See this NY Times article, for example.) And most Republican lawmakers knew it was going to harm their constituents. So, they designed the law in a way that most of the damage will happen after the 2026 midterm elections. They’re banking on the fact that people’s short attention spans and apathy toward actual knowledge of policy means they will mostly forget about the Big Ugly until it sneaks up on them after mid-terms.
In the mean time, Trump and his family of grifters will do what they do: cash in on the Presidency in every way imaginable. And by the time we feel the pain from the decisions made by his entourage of sell-outs, he will have finished what he is sure to label as his wildly successful second term.
We have got to stop making it so easy for this guy!
From both of the other branches of the federal government—you know, the ones that are supposed to provide checks and balances—all the way down to the local level of city administrators, so many people are rolling over for Donald Trump, arguably one of the most ridiculous men in the history of the world.
Just recently in Cedar Rapids, our own mayor and members of city council attempted to quietly backtrack on naming a new bridge the “Bridge of Justice”, just in case the word “justice” might offend Trump and put funding for its construction at risk. I say “attempted” because they did in fact eliminate that name, but they were not able to do it quietly. It’s caused quite a stir locally.
I work for a nonprofit, and I have heard many local nonprofit administrators say they have scrubbed their websites of any words that might possibly be interpreted as supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion, because Trump has made these values into dirty words and threatened to cut federal funding for any organization that employs them.
Are we really a nation of such self-centered cowards? When will we find our courage and our integrity?
I am most ashamed of people in positions of privilege who say they believe in progressive values but who are unwilling to do anything about it. I am especially mindful of the ones I know personally in my own city; the ones who are unwilling to spend a cent of their political capital standing alongside others who were given fewer advantages in life.
But I shouldn’t be surprised. Once again my peers are standing by quietly, saying, “I wish I could do more”, while the real work will be done by the people our president and his followers would like to push aside and make invisible. The Black and Brown and immigrant voices, the feminists, the LGBTQ+ community, the young people who are bold enough to call out the obvious hypocrisy their elders are too comfortable to challenge.
My only hope is that I will be counted as one who stands alongside my more courageous neighbors more times than not. What about you?