Republican lawmakers are flaunting to their constituents about the recently passed “big, beautiful bill,” framing it as a success for working class families. However, a new poll suggests that voters are not buying into that idea, as the majority of U.S. adults think the new tax bill will benefit the wealthy and harm those in lower classes.

That conclusion comes from a recently published Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll. The survey was conducted between 1,437 American adults between July 10-14 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability based AmeriSpeak panel. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

According to the new survey, about two-thirds of U.S. adults expect the new tax law will help the rich. Similarly, 6 in 10 Americans think it will do more to hurt than help low-income people. About half say it will do more harm than good for middle-class people and people like them.

But despite the majority of adults thinking that the new law will primarily help the wealthy, there is still a partisan divide evident in this ideology. More specifically, Democrats and independents are much likelier than Republicans to think the law could harm them personally.

About half of Republicans expect the legislation to do more to help “people like you,” compared with about 2 in 10 independents and just 6% of Democrats.

The “big, beautiful bill’s” price tag has also led more adults to disapprove of the way the Trump administration is handling government spending since the spring. In fact, just 38% of Americans approve of how Donald Trump is handling government spending, compared with 46% who thought the same in March.

At the center of the controversial bill is an extension of Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was slated to end this year. The legislation makes most of the tax cuts permanent, while increasing spending for border security, defense and energy production, CBS News reports.

The bill is partially paid for by significant cuts to health care and nutrition programs, like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill would add $3.4 trillion to federal deficits over the next 10 years and leave millions without health insurance. Nevertheless, Republicans and the White House dispute those predictions.

Since the bill was signed into law by the president, Republicans have tried to frame it as a win for working class families, saying they’ve delivered broad tax cuts, an unprecedented investment in immigration enforcement and new restraints on social safety net programs. On the other hand, Democrats have painted it as a law that rolls back health insurance access and raises costs for middle-class Americans while cutting taxes for the rich, curtailing green energy initiatives and restricting some workers’ organizing rights.

“It represents the broken promise they made to the American people,” said Rep. Suzan DelBene, a Washington Democrat who chairs the party’s House campaign arm. “We’re going to continue to hold Republicans accountable for this vote.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican elected officials are promoting their recently passed tax and spending bill as a win for working Americans, but a new survey shows that Americans broadly see it as a win for the wealthy.

About two-thirds of U.S. adults expect the new tax law will help the rich, according to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Most — about 6 in 10 — think it will do more to hurt than help low-income people. About half say it will do more harm than good for middle-class people and people like them.

Republicans have already begun airing advertisements framing the legislation as a tax cut for all Americans, highlighting new deductions on tips and overtime income. But Democrats have been making the case that the wealthiest Americans will benefit from the legislation, citing cuts to Medicaid and food assistance programs.

The new poll indicates that Republicans still have persuading to do. The high price tag may also be turning off some Americans. Trump’s approval rating on government spending has fallen since the spring, according to the new survey, and about 6 in 10 U.S. adults across the political spectrum think the government is spending “too much.”

Americans see little benefit for low-income or middle-class people

Most people have heard at least something about the new law, according to the poll, which found that about two-thirds of U.S. adults have heard or read “a lot” or “some” about it.

Those who know something about the legislation are more likely to believe it favors the wealthy, compared with people who have heard “only a little” or “nothing at all.”

Anaiah Barrow, a 25-year-old single mom from North Carolina who doesn’t identify with a political party, said she’s concerned that the new law will hurt caregivers like her. Barrow — who’s juggling a job, taking care of two young children and pursuing a degree — is concerned about losing access to day care and food stamps.

“It has a really big effect,” Barrow said of the recently passed legislation, which she has learned about on TikTok. “It may not be as a big now, but in the long run it’s going to have that effect — it’s going to hit bad.”

Even many Republicans agree that the wealthy are likely to benefit from the tax and spending law. About half say the law will do more to help the wealthy. A similar percentage say this about middle-class people, while about 4 in 10 Republicans think it will do more to help than hurt low-income people.

Lori Nichols, a 51-year-old caregiver for her elderly mother in Illinois, said the legislation has “very little for the older people and people that are on disability.” Although Nichols is a Republican, she said she didn’t vote in the 2024 presidential election and voted for Democrat Joe Biden in 2020.

“As far as the tax part goes, it seems to me like (Trump’s) just making the rich richer,” Nichols said.

Republicans are less likely to think they’ll be harmed

Despite the overall sense that wealthy people will be the primary beneficiaries, Democrats and independents are much likelier than Republicans to think the law could harm them personally.

Nathan Hay, a shift service manager at an international dealership that repairs trucks, said he thinks lower-income people might see a “slight increase” in taxes but still supports the bill. “Personally, it’s not helping me a ton,” Hay said, but he believes it will help small businesses, which have been a staple in his own life and his family’s.

About half of Republicans expect the legislation to do more to help “people like you,” compared with about 2 in 10 independents and just 6% of Democrats.

“I’m not a tax accountant, but it sounds as if it would be more beneficial to (people) in the higher tax level,” said Republican Geraldine Putnam, 87, a Trump voter who lives in the rural south.

“It’s not that I would want to take away the incentive to become more wealthy — that’s the American dream,” Putnam said.

But she also thinks she’ll end up paying more in taxes. “What he’s doing I’m sure he thinks is correct,” she said of Trump. “It’s just the extreme method that he’s using.”

Trump approval on government spending

The law’s hefty price tag may be factoring into some Americans’ assessments of the law. The poll found they are less likely to approve of how Trump is handling government spending since the spring.

Just 38% of Americans approve of how Donald Trump is handling government spending, compared with 46% in an AP-NORC poll conducted in March.

Republicans are less likely to say the government is spending “too much” than they were in March 2023, when Joe Biden was president, but about 6 in 10 still think the government is overspending. A similar share of Democrats say the same thing.

Putnam, now a retiree, took issue with Trump’s cuts in federal workers, even though she says she approves of being able to “trim off people who aren’t really doing their jobs.”

The way she sees it, Trump drew attention to people abusing social services, then “fires the people in the office” that are investigating that very fraud and abuse. “What’s the sense in that?” she asked.

Public confidence in President Donald Trump’s second-term policies remains tepid, with new polling revealing that only around a quarter of American adults say they have felt any benefit from his agenda. According to a recent survey conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, Trump is struggling to garner majority approval across any of the major policy areas surveyed, including immigration, economic management, government spending, trade, health care, and his approach to the conflict in the Middle East.

Even in areas that have historically been seen as strongholds for the president – such as immigration – approval has slipped. Support for his immigration policies, for example, dropped from 49% in March to 43% now. Similarly, approval of his handling of government spending declined from 46% to around 40%. On the broader economy, Trump’s approval ratings remain static, with roughly four in ten Americans backing his approach.

The dip in support comes shortly after the passage of Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” his first major legislative win of this term. The bill extended tax cuts from his first term, offset by deep reductions in social welfare programs, including Medicaid. However, the move has proven controversial. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that it will add .3 trillion to the national debt and leave nearly 12 million Americans without health insurance. Public opinion has followed suit, with polling from The Economist and YouGov showing Americans opposing the bill by an 18-point margin. Since the bill’s signing on July 4, approval of Trump’s handling of health care, taxes, and spending has fallen.

More broadly, about half of Americans say Trump’s policies have actively harmed them, while only two in ten believe there has been no real impact. Just one in four respondents say his policies have helped them since the start of his second term six months ago. A significant share of Democrats and independents believe they’ve been negatively affected by his decisions – and even some Republicans echo that sentiment.

Landon Lindemer, a 29-year-old logistics manager from Georgia who has voted for Trump three times, said he hasn’t noticed much personal benefit from Trump’s policies. Though generally supportive of the president, he expressed doubts about the recent spending bill’s ability to make a meaningful difference in everyday life.

This skepticism mirrors broader polling trends. Trump’s net approval rating now sits at -14%, with 41% approving of his performance, 55% disapproving, and 4% undecided. His first and second terms have followed a similar trajectory: beginning with lukewarm public support, which quickly declined. Recent weeks have seen his net approval consistently below -10%, worsened by backlash over new tariffs and protests against his immigration policies.

Trump’s re-election was driven by a narrative of economic recovery, with promises to slash inflation, raise incomes, and restore the fortunes of the middle class. But since returning to office, public ratings of his performance on these core issues have turned sharply negative. The effects of his tariff policies have pushed prices higher, particularly on essentials like groceries, clothing, and household goods, while failing to deliver noticeable economic relief to working-class families.

At the same time, crises abroad persist. War continues in Ukraine, and the Middle East remains unstable, undermining Trump’s pledges to end America’s involvement in foreign conflicts.

Despite criticism, the president retains a perception among many Americans of being a capable operator. Around 60% say Trump is at least “somewhat” effective at getting things done, and nearly half view him as a decent negotiator or someone capable of handling a crisis. However, this confidence does not extend to empathy. A majority – 56% – believe Trump does not understand the problems people like them face. Even among Republicans, only about half think Trump connects well with their personal concerns.

Bailey Neill, a Democrat and attorney from San Antonio, said he has seen no direct change in his daily life under Trump’s leadership, apart from what he described as an increasing atmosphere of anxiety. He likened Trump’s behavior to that of an authoritarian and cited concerns about his association with Project 2025, a conservative roadmap for restructuring federal power.

Discontent is also apparent among more traditionally conservative and independent voices. Timothy Dwyer, a 26-year-old retail worker from Tennessee who leans Republican, sharply criticized Trump’s tariffs and their impact on everyday goods. He went as far as to say the country has become “the laughing stock of the world” under Trump’s economic stewardship.

Long-term survey data from YouGov suggests dissatisfaction with Trump’s leadership extends even into traditionally Republican states. Approval remains highest in GOP strongholds, but pockets of discontent are growing – even in states that helped re-elect him just months ago. The numbers are likely to concern Republican strategists eyeing tight races in the upcoming midterm elections.

Demographic data highlights persistent patterns: Trump remains most popular among white, male, and older voters. Meanwhile, younger Americans, people with higher education levels, and ethnic minorities continue to view his presidency unfavorably.

As in past administrations, partisan divisions drive different policy concerns. Immigration, taxes, and spending dominate among Republicans, while Democrats are more focused on health care and climate change. For Trump, whose presidency was supposed to deliver economic revival and a scaled-back federal government, the reality has been mixed reviews, surging inflation, and a public that increasingly questions whether he understands their daily struggles.

Thune Joins The Ben Shapiro Show

“For the first time since I’ve been in Washington, we did something serious and meaningful about starting to rein in the runaway cost of our entitlement programs and getting rid of the waste, fraud, and abuse in a lot of those programs.”

Click here to watch the video.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today joined The Ben Shapiro Show.

On the Big, Beautiful Bill:

“I would say that … working Americans, middle-income families are the biggest winners. Those that make under $50,000 get the biggest proportionate tax break in all of this … with an increase in the child tax credit, standard deduction, both of those being made permanent; lower rates getting locked in, made permanent.

“And so if you take a family, for example, in my state of South Dakota, average family, if we hadn’t acted at the end of the year, they’d be facing a $2,500 tax increase. And as it is, they’re going to be facing lower taxes and … keeping more of what they earn so they can provide for themselves and their families … instead of sending the money to Washington, D.C.

“So I think the tax pieces of this … no tax on tips, no tax on overtime … are huge wins for … working Americans, and we created a big bonus deduction for seniors, so lower taxes for people who are on Social Security.”

[…]

“It was a very sweeping piece of legislation that addressed border security, addressed modernizing our military, energy dominance, the tax pieces I mentioned. Then the other thing is, it was historic in terms of the savings that we were able to achieve. And … for the first time since I’ve been in Washington, we did something serious and meaningful about starting to rein in the runaway cost of our entitlement programs and getting rid of the waste, fraud, and abuse in a lot of those programs. So a trillion and a half in savings there … that’s historic.

“There’s school choice that was included in there. Obviously we were able to do something on taxpayer funding of abortions in this legislation. I mean … this was a very comprehensive piece of legislation that included a lot of President Trump’s agenda.”

On Democrats’ Medicaid fearmongering:

“[T]hese are commonsense reforms and reforms that I think when the American people hear about it, they say, ‘Well, that makes sense.’ I’ve seen polling that suggests 72 percent of Americans, including a majority of Democrats, support work requirements.”

[…]

“There have been states [that] really abused the issue of provider taxes, state-directed payments. And great examples of that … are New York and California, where they’ve used those types of things to cover illegals, people who shouldn’t be on Medicaid in the first place.

“Democrats … they’re going to lie about this, because that’s what they do, particularly on the issue of health care … Medicaid is going to continue to grow in terms of just the rate of inflation over time. It’s just not going to grow at the 50 or 60 percent that it’s grown at in the last five years.

“We’re slowing the rate of growth, not cutting it, but doing it in a way that gets rid of the waste, fraud, and abuse in the program and restores the program to the people for whom it was intended. And those are low-income seniors, those are pregnant moms, those are disabled people – instead of able-bodied adults that states have been adding to the program so they can get more federal money, 90 percent federal match.”

On President Trump’s successful foreign policy:

“[T]he president … sees the world … in a very clear-eyed way and realizes that America’s got to be a leader in that world. And I think what he did with NATO was really important, because it’s not American tax dollars, you know, taxpayers who’d be paying for this. It’s going to be NATO countries, but it’s American weaponry, and we have the most sophisticated, high-tech, and lethal weaponry in the world.”

[…]

“I think [the president] realizes that the relationship, the partnership that we have with NATO was really important, not only to the United States, but to the entire West. And I think that the leadership and courage he’s shown with respect to what he did with Iran, too, was truly remarkable. And again, another example that deterrence is back. Peace through strength is back.

“People around the world notice that. What he did with how flawlessly that campaign was executed … in Iran, I think that was a message to all of our adversaries out there that America is … here to play. And I think that message was sent loudly and clearly.”

New this morning, CNN polling showing President Trump’s so-called big beautiful bill that he just signed into law is getting some ugly reviews from voters. Roughly 6 in 10 Americans say they oppose the president’s sweeping tax and spending plan, but The response is not entirely negative. Joining us now is CNN Washington bureau chief and political director David Chalian. David, can you break down for us how Americans feel about this mega bill? And there are lots of different parts, but overarching doesn’t look right. Yes, this is going to be an uphill sales battle for the administration which begins in earnest today when JD Vance heads to battleground Pennsylvania to do just that. Sarah, take *** look at the overall numbers you mentioned here. 61% of Americans in our brand new poll by SSRS oppose the mega bill that Trump signed into law on July 4th. 39% supported. Get it by party. Obviously you’d imagine Democrats are overwhelmingly opposed. Republicans are in favor here, but if you look at the independent number, only 32% of independents support this bill. 2/3 of independents are opposed, and I would note on the Republican line, 1 in 5 Republicans, 19% of Republicans say they are opposed to the bill, Sarah. All right, so, so what does this spell out for the sort of overarching Trump approval rating? Well, Donald Trump’s approval rating in our brand new poll stands at 42% approval, which is roughly where he was when we last checked in as well. So we’re not seeing *** ton of movement now. I should say 42% is not where any president wants to be. He’s upside down there by 16% points, 58% of Americans. Disapprove of how he’s handling his job as president, but we’re not yet seeing any kind of movement in his approval rating, which tends to be in the history of Donald Trump on the public stage, operating within *** very narrow band, and we’re seeing that here in the second term as he approaches the 6 month mark as well.

Advertisement Vance touts tax breaks in Pennsylvania as he makes White House’s first big pitch on Trump’s new law Editorial Standards ⓘ

Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday made the Trump administration’s first big pitch to sell the public on President Donald Trump’s sweeping budget-and-policy package in the swing political turf of northeastern Pennsylvania.The vice president, whose tiebreaking vote got the bill through the Senate, touted the legislation’s tax breaks and cast Democrats as opponents of cutting taxes because of their unanimous opposition to the legislation.Democrats, who’ve decried the law’s cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, are expected to try to use it against Republicans in closely contested congressional campaigns next year, including one expected to play out in the working class-area where Vance promoted the legislation.”We worked so hard to get this legislation passed to cut your taxes, to prevent big tax increases, to make it easier to save and invest in our own country and our own people once again,” Vance said.The Republican vice president, speaking at a machine shop in West Pittston, spotlighted the bill’s new tax deductions on overtime.”Now, thanks to President Trump’s leadership, if you work overtime, the federal government is not going to take a dime of that overtime,” Vance said. “You earned that money. You ought to keep it in your pocket.”He also promoted the legislation’s creation of a new children’s savings program, called Trump Accounts, with a potential $1,000 deposit from the Treasury Department.And with an eye toward the elections next year that will determine control of Congress, Vance urged the crowd, many wearing “Make America Great Again” hats, to “talk about what the bill does for American citizens” over the next year and a half.The historic legislation, which Trump signed into law earlier this month with near unanimous Republican support, includes key campaign pledges like no tax on tips but also cuts Medicaid and food stamps by $1.2 trillion.Democrats recently held a town hall in House Speaker Mike Johnson’s home state of Louisiana to denounce the legislation as a “reverse Robin Hood — stealing from the poor to give to the rich.”Vance’s office declined to elaborate on plans for other public events around the U.S. to promote the bill.It’s unclear how much Trump plans to promote it himself. He told NBC News last week that he would travel “a little bit” to help champion the measure he dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill.””But honestly,” he said, “It’s been received so well I don’t think I have to.”The battle for control of the messaging on the bill could be critical to how well the measure is ultimately received, as some of the most divisive parts of the law, including Medicaid and food assistance cuts, are timed to take effect only after the midterm elections. The bill was generally unpopular before its passage, polls showed, although some individual provisions are popular, like boosting the annual child tax credit and eliminating taxes on tips.West Pittston, which sits in Republican Rep. Rob Bresnahan’s district in northeastern Pennsylvania, is a place where Trump’s populist brand of politics has found a foothold. Trump’s popularity with the white working class has accelerated the political shift in nearby areas, including around Wilkes-Barre and Scranton, turning reliably Democratic areas into contested turf and contributing to Trump’s 2024 win in Pennsylvania.There, and in a swing district around Allentown just to the south, Republicans last year knocked off two Democratic U.S. House incumbents after years of trying.Walter Volinski, a 74-year-old retiree from nearby Swoyersville, said he liked that the bill extended the tax cuts that Trump enacted in his first term. He said he hasn’t read the nearly 900-page legislation but he thinks most politicians haven’t either. Still, Volinski said, “I trust Donald Trump and the Republican Party to make this country a great country again.”Steven Taylor, a 52-year-old truck driver from West Pittston, thought the new law would help people struggling to pay their bills. Taylor, a Republican who voted for Trump, said he liked that the law contained tax breaks on tips and overtime pay. “Everybody’s hurting out here,” he said. “We need a little extra help.”But Taylor said he was concerned that his nephew, who has diabetes, could be affected by the legislation’s cuts to Medicaid. “We don’t know as of yet. But we’re really hopeful that it doesn’t,” Taylor said.Maegan Zielinski, a 33-year-old small business owner from Wilkes-Barre who was among a group of people protesting Vance’s appearance, said she worried the law will hurt vulnerable people, including those on Medicaid and Medicare. “I do not like that it continues to support the billionaires instead of the working-class people of America, continuing to give them tax breaks while middle-class America suffers,” she said.Debate over the budget-and-policy package is expected to shape the 2026 midterm battle for control of the House, which Democrats see as their best opportunity to block Trump’s agenda in his final two years in the Oval Office. Democrats need a net gain of three House seats to break Republican control of Washington.As Republicans see it, they’ve now delivered broad tax cuts, funding to further boost border security and restraints on costly social safety net programs.Democrats see a law that rolls back health insurance access, threatens the solvency of rural hospitals and raises costs for middle-class Americans while cutting taxes mostly for the rich and slashing green energy subsidies.Bresnahan’s seat is a top Democratic target. While Bresnahan hasn’t drawn a challenger in the 2026 election, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro has aggressively gone after the state’s Republican members of Congress who voted for the bill, including Bresnahan.”Shame on these members of Congress who spent the last few months saying, ‘Oh, I’ll never cut Medicaid,'” Shapiro said during an appearance earlier this month on WILK-FM radio in Wilkes-Barre. “I mean, Rep. Bresnahan told you, your listeners, your newspapers, told me to my face, this was a red line in the sand for him, he wouldn’t harm people on Medicaid, he wouldn’t harm our rural hospitals. … He caved and voted for this bill.”Bresnahan has defended his vote by saying it strengthens Medicaid by cracking down on fraud, waste and abuse and requiring those who can work to do so. He also said it ensures hospitals in northeastern Pennsylvania will qualify for the funding they need to stay open.___Price reported from Washington.