NEW YORK (AP) — Democrats are launching a nationwide summer blitz designed to force vulnerable Republicans to defend President Donald Trump’s big tax breaks and spending cuts bill — especially Medicaid cuts that will leave millions of Americans without health care coverage.
Republican leaders in Washington, meanwhile, have encouraged their members to promote more popular aspects of the bill during smaller controlled appearances where GOP officials are less likely to face difficult questions or protests.
The Democratic National Committee’s “Organizing Summer” will feature events in all 50 states, beginning with Alaska, Texas, Colorado and California over the coming week. The party’s message will be reinforced by online advertising and billboard trucks at state and county fairs in the coming days targeting vulnerable House Republicans in Pennsylvania, Michigan and New Jersey, among other states.
“As Democrats, our job is to ensure that every American across the country understands the devastating impacts of this bill,” DNC Chair Ken Martin said. “Democrats will be holding events, highlighting Republican hypocrisy, and ensuring Americans across the country know exactly who is responsible for taking away health care, food, construction jobs, and nursing homes in order to give massive handouts to billionaires.”
The massive Republican-backed tax and spending package that Trump called “big, beautiful” and signed into law on July 4 may ultimately become the defining issue of next year’s midterm elections, which will decide control of Congress for Trump’s final two years in office.
Republicans are touting the bill as a tax cut for all Americans, but polling suggests that U.S. adults have been slow to embrace the GOP’s message. The new law will add $3.4 trillion to federal deficits through 2034, leave more than another 10 million people without health insurance and leave millions of others without food stamps, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
For much of the year, Republican officials have avoided town hall meetings with constituents or public appearances where they might face protesters or unscripted questions from voters. GOP members of Congress may be slightly more visible this summer, however, according to a memo distributed this week by the House Republican campaign arm.
The memo encourages Republicans to be proactive in selling Trump’s bill during the August recess, although the National Republican Campaign Committee suggests its members focus on tax cuts in smaller settings they can control.
Among the NRCC’s suggestions outlined in the memo: “Visit a local hospital and discuss how you voted for no tax on overtime,” “stop by a restaurant to highlight your vote on no tax on tips” and “work the counter at a local store and chat about your work to lower costs.”
The monthlong August break “is a critical opportunity to continue to define how this legislation will help every voter and push back on Democrat fearmongering,” the Republican memo says.
Democrats are planning a decidedly more public campaign this month than their Republican rivals, although they’ll also offer “multi-day intensive bootcamps” as part of a training program for political operatives and community leaders.
Events are being planned for all 50 states with special focus on 35 of the most competitive congressional districts in the country. Current and former Democratic officials will be featured, including former Rep. Gabby Giffords, who emerged as a leader against gun violence since her 2011 assassination attempt.
As part of the new effort, the Democratic National Committee is also launching a new digital advertising campaign initially targeting vulnerable Republicans in Iowa, Kentucky, Ohio and Virginia. That’s in addition to the DNC sending mobile billboard trucks to county fairs in the districts of Republicans in Michigan, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
“Trump’s big ugly bill: $4 trillion giveaway to billionaires. The rest of us pay the price,” read the billboards, which will feature the name and face of each Republican congressman.
And as Republicans search for an effective message to sell Trump’s bill, Democrats are increasingly confident.
“The big, ugly law is a political disaster,” said Viet Shelton, spokesman for the House Democrats campaign arm. “Everyone hates it and vulnerable House Republicans know it, which is why they’re scared to face their constituents in person during the August recess.”