The backlash begins: Republicans heading home from D.C. face local protests over Trump bill

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Briefing with Jen Psaki Episode Title: The Backlash Begins: Republicans Heading Home from D.C. Face Local Protests Over Trump Bill
Release Date: July 4, 2025
Host: Jen Psaki, MSNBC

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1. Introduction: Presidential Legislative Priorities

Jen Psaki opens the episode by discussing the significance of a president's first-year legislative priorities. She emphasizes that regardless of party or ideology, presidents typically focus on addressing pressing national issues. Psaki cites President Obama’s efforts with the Recovery Act, Dodd-Frank, and the Affordable Care Act as examples of problem-driven legislation. Similarly, she highlights President Biden’s focus on economic rescue during the pandemic, infrastructure, inflation, and climate crisis as key legislative goals.

Quote:

"What’s the problem you want to solve?... That’s what they were trying to do in every case."
Jen Psaki, [00:58]

2. Donald Trump’s Legislative Agenda: The Big Ugly Bill

Transitioning to the current administration, Psaki critiques President Donald Trump's latest legislative achievement—a substantial budget bill passed by Republicans. She questions the underlying problem the bill aims to address, suggesting that it disproportionately favors the wealthy while imposing significant cuts on social programs.

Quote:

"What exactly is the problem this legislation is trying to solve?... It's the only thing that makes sense."
Jen Psaki, [05:30]

3. Republican Justifications and Democratic Criticism

Psaki dissects the Republican narrative, arguing that the bill's true intent is to lessen the tax burden on the wealthy and increase it for the poor. She vehemently counters the portrayal of Trump as a champion of the working class by highlighting the bill’s adverse effects on Medicaid, SNAP, and tax credits for clean energy.

Quote:

"A populist doesn't kick 17 million people off their healthcare coverage... And a populist definitely doesn't do all of that, while also giving over $4 trillion in tax cuts to corporations and the wealthiest people in the entire country."
Jen Psaki, [05:45]

4. Public Backlash and Protests

The passage of the bill has ignited widespread protests across the nation. Psaki details various demonstrations in key states such as Georgia, Nebraska, California, and New York, where constituents vehemently oppose the bill’s provisions, particularly the Medicaid cuts.

Quote:

"Dozens gathered outside Representative David Valadao’s office. Their message to the congressman, vote no on what the protesters call deadly cuts to health care."
Jen Psaki, [06:38]

5. Hakeem Jeffries’ Historic Speech

In response to the bill, Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries delivered a record-breaking speech on the House floor, lasting over eight hours and forty minutes. His intent was to delay the vote until the public was more aware of the bill's implications. Jeffries passionately condemned the legislation, labeling it a betrayal of the American people.

Quote:

"This reckless Republican budget is an immoral document... It’s outrageous, it’s out of control and it’s completely and totally unacceptable."
Danville protester via [06:58]

6. Amy Klobuchar’s Testimony on Medicaid Cuts

Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota provides a detailed account of how the bill will devastate her constituents. With 67% of her district enrolled in Medicaid, Klobuchar underscores the catastrophic impact of the proposed cuts on healthcare access, food assistance, and overall well-being.

Quote:

"The Republican reconciliation bill is a catastrophe... When America sneezes, the Bronx gets the flu."
Amy Klobuchar, [13:49]

7. Impact on Rural Healthcare and Local Economies

Psaki highlights the immediate real-world consequences of the bill, including hospital closures in rural areas. Citing Nebraska as an example, she explains how financial strains from Medicaid cuts are forcing hospitals to shutter facilities, leading to job losses and reduced healthcare services.

Quote:

"One rural health clinic has already closed. It will close because of the cuts that are coming."
Jen Psaki, [24:18]

8. Political Repercussions and Accountability

The episode delves into the political fallout for Republican lawmakers who supported the bill. Psaki discusses how constituents are holding their representatives accountable, with some facing primary challenges and others expressing profound disappointment over broken promises, such as cutting Medicaid despite previous assurances.

Quote:

"The focus will be on making this point every single day... It's going to take the people who fought against it, too, also being relentless."
Jen Psaki, [10:19]

9. Nathan Sage’s Challenge to Joni Ernst

Introducing former Marine and Democratic candidate Nathan Sage, Psaki covers his challenge to Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa. Sage criticizes Ernst’s support for the bill, emphasizing the dire consequences for Iowans who will lose healthcare and food assistance.

Quote:

"I was at this town hall and saw her say this live. My jaw almost hit the floor. I'm running against her to get her the hell out of the Senate."
Nathan Sage, [38:30]

10. Supreme Court and Transgender Athletes Case Brief Mention

Towards the episode's end, Psaki briefly touches upon an upcoming Supreme Court case regarding state bans on transgender athletes in sports. She debunks the notion that such bans reflect widespread issues, citing statistics that show negligible transgender participation in collegiate and youth sports.

Quote:

"The reality of trans athletes in sports in this country is simply not what they want you to think it is."
Jen Psaki, [44:49]

11. Conclusion: The Defining Moment for the Republican Party

Jen Psaki concludes by framing the passage of the big ugly bill as a defining moment for the Republican Party. She asserts that the continued visible impacts on everyday Americans will necessitate a relentless Democratic effort to counteract and reverse the bill’s effects, underscoring the urgency of the political battle ahead.

Quote:

"This will be the defining moment of this Republican Party... the vast majority, not the wealthiest, will go down."
Hakeem Jeffries, [29:02]

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Key Takeaways:

• President Trump’s recently passed budget bill has sparked significant backlash due to its substantial cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and clean energy tax credits.
• Democrats, led by figures like Hakeem Jeffries and Amy Klobuchar, are mobilizing against the bill, highlighting its negative impact on vulnerable populations.
• Public protests are widespread, signaling strong constituent opposition to the bill.
• The political landscape is heating up, with upcoming elections and primary challenges poised to address the fallout from the legislation.
• Real-world consequences, such as rural hospital closures, are already manifesting, reinforcing the urgency of Democratic advocacy.

Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Jen Psaki: "What’s the problem you want to solve?... That’s what they were trying to do in every case." [00:58]
• Amy Klobuchar: "The Republican reconciliation bill is a catastrophe... When America sneezes, the Bronx gets the flu." [13:49]
• Nathan Sage: "I'm running against her to get her the hell out of the Senate." [38:30]
• Hakeem Jeffries: "This will be the defining moment of this Republican Party... the vast majority, not the wealthiest, will go down." [29:02]

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This comprehensive summary encapsulates the pivotal discussions and insights from the episode, providing a clear overview of the legislative turmoil surrounding Trump's bill, the consequent protests, and the strategic responses from Democratic leaders and candidates.

Transcript

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[Jen Psaki]

So every president has a big legislative priority that they want to get done in their first year. The first year is always the pivotal time where you can push big pieces of legislation forward. And regardless of party or ideology or the merits of the ideas, the basic question that drives it for every single one of them is typically pretty simple. What's the problem you want to solve? Maybe it was a problem you inherited. Maybe it's making good on a campaign promise. Maybe it's a crisis nobody saw coming that's now sitting in your lap because you're the president. I mean, I worked for two presidents and that's how it went for them. But that's how it goes has gone for pretty much every president for decades. Obama's first 18 months were focused around getting the Recovery act passed because his priority at the time was digging the country out of the huge economic hole, the massive unemployment rate rate crisis that was created by the 2008 financial meltdown. He also fought to pass Dodd Frank, a Wall street reform package to address the problems that had led to the financial crisis. And of course he pushed very, very, very hard for the Affordable Care act because far too many Americans lacked health insurance. He was solving clear pulling the country out of an economic hole, trying to prevent it from happening again, trying to give people health insurance who didn't have it. Fast forward to when Joe Biden took office. That was the height of a global pandemic and his focus was of course on delivering a rescue plan to help address the economic damage it was causing and to help get all sorts of equipment out to people, whether it was tests or masks or things, to help people address and prevent them from getting Covid. That was his focus. He also signed a giant bill into law that addressed the country's infrastructure needs, something way overdue. Remember the infrastructure Week that was in Trump's first term? Seemingly every week? Well, Joe Biden actually did it, and then he passed another law that tackled inflation and the climate crisis. He was trying to answer questions, trying to address the COVID crisis, but also address problems he had long wanted to solve. Outdated infrastructure in our country, the need to do more for the climate. Those were clear questions. That's what they were trying to do in every case. And more cases than those. Presidents identified problems that were impacting huge, broad swathes of the country. And then they worked with Congress to try to solve them. Which brings me to a big unanswered question about Donald Trump's big, ugly bill, which now heads to his desk after passing by the narrowest of margins this afternoon. What exactly is the problem this legislation is trying to solve? What exactly did Donald Trump and his team sit in a room and think, you know what? We have two houses of Congress, we have the White House. We're going to try to solve this big problem? Republicans have never even tried to answer that question, not coherently, at least. But looking what is in the bill, it's pretty clear to me that the problem they were seeking to address is, I guess, that the wealthy in this country have too little and they pay too much in taxes and the poor have too much. It's the only thing that makes sense. And, yeah, that question and focusing your big legislative priorities on answering that question is completely at odds with the often repeated theory that Donald Trump is somehow a champion of working people. I mean, we have all, probably everybody watching right now. I definitely do have all long known that this is a farce. But now, with his signature legislation headed to his desk, there should be no doubt Trump is no populist. A populist doesn't kick 17 million people off their health care coverage. Populist doesn't take food stamps away from millions of people. Populist doesn't fund a massive immigration enforcement army with a budget bigger than many of the world's militaries. And a populist definitely doesn't do all of that, while also giving over $4 trillion in tax cuts to corporations and the wealthiest people in the entire country. This is Donald Trump's signature piece of legislation. It's the chance he had as president to solve a problem in this country at a time when, by the way, real problems need a lot of solving. Many people who voted for him were betting he was going to do something to help them. And yet those are the people who voted for him, who sent him to the Oval Office, many of whom will be hit the hardest by this legislation. I mean, Trump made huge electoral gains in counties with lots of voters on Medicaid, probably in part because he explicitly pledged never to cut Medicaid. Well, he just broke that promise to all those voters, and some of them don't even know it yet. Some of them still have no idea what Trump and Republicans in Congress have just done. Polling shows that many Americans have not even heard about this giant bill at all. And of those who have, only a sliver know it includes Medicaid cuts. And that is definitely a challenge for Democrats. And we're going to talk about that with a few of my guests tonight, because it kind of is the question now. But here's the thing. The more people learn about what is in this bill, the less they like the bill and all the components of it. And the people who do know what is in the bill are pissed. In Danville today, people voice their frustration with President Donald Trump's one big, beautiful bill, say Medicaid loud and clear. Clear. Across the street from their congressman's office, dozens gathered outside Representative David Valadao's office. Their message to the congressman, vote no on what the protesters call deadly cuts to health care.

[Amy Klobuchar]

Protesters tonight on Dodge street pleading for.

[Hakeem Jeffries]

Nebraska's representatives to have a change of heart.

[Amy Klobuchar]

Frustration mounts as a massive federal budget bill hits the House floor.

[Jen Psaki]

In congressional districts all across Georgia Tuesday, constituents demonstrated against President Trump's spending bill. The organization of Monday's Stop the Billionaire Giveaway bus tour says because those in favor of this bill aren't looking at its harmful effects to the greater population, such as Medicaid restrictions, food assistance, and rollback tax credits on clean energy. Everything you just saw, that package of protests across the country from all over the place is just from the past three days. And there were more. Protesters showed up in Tucson outside the office of Republican Congressman Juan Keskamani and outside Republican Congresswoman Young Kim's office in Anaheim. In Staten island, protesters held what they called a die in. That's what they called it. Outside the offices of Republican Congresswoman Nicole Maliatakis. They brought homemade tombstones representing the lives impacted by Trump's big, ugly bill. And the protests are only gaining steam tomorrow. There are more than 200 Free America protests planned across the country. Organizers say those protests will be focused on freeing the US from billionaires, power, poverty, unlawful orders and the politics fear. And those protesters understand how important it is to bring the ugliness of this bill into the light of day. That is the focus now. And so did Democrats in Congress. Republicans tried to hold their final bill on final vote on this bill late into the night last night, late into the night when literally everybody in the country was sleeping. I mean, debate on the bill began around 3:30 in the morning. But Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries was not going to let them vote in the middle of the night. He used something called the magic minute. It allows the Minority Leader and a couple of other high, high ranking people in Congress to speak as long as he or she wants before there is a final vote. And so Hakeem Jeffries decided to use his magic minute for as long as he possibly could. He ended up speaking for over 8 hours and 40 minutes, breaking the record for the longest House floor speech in history. And in doing so, Jeffries made sure that Republicans would have to vote on this unpopular bill for when all their constituents were awake to see it happen.

[Nathan Sage]

I rise today in strong opposition to Donald Trump's one big ugly bill. I feel the obligation, Mr. Speaker, to stand on this House floor and take my sweet time. This reckless Republican budget is an immoral document. This is a crime scene and House Democrats want no part of it. Vice President said these cuts are immaterial. Are you kidding me? We have a responsibility to stand up for what is right and stand up for what is right in the chamber that we serve in. It's outrageous, it's out of control and it's completely and totally unacceptable. Extraordinary to me, Mr. Speaker, that you got folks in this town talking about draining the swamp. Guess what? You are the swamp. Got some folks in this town, they go to church and they pray on Sunday, P R A Y say the truth and then they come to Congress and pray P R E Y on the American people. I'm not down with that kind of faith. That ain't my faith. That's not our faith.

[Jen Psaki]

I don't know. An underslept. Hakeem Jeffries may be the best version of Hakeem Jeffries. Maybe the man shouldn't sleep that much. In the future, we'll see. Democrats may not have been able to stop this bill from passing. I mean, that was right before the bill passed. But what we are seeing now is the beginning, just the beginning, of an effort to make sure every Republican who voted for this owns that vote. And it's not going to take one speech, even a good one, or one protest. It's not going to happen in one day or one week or even one month. That effort will need to be absolutely relentless and specifically tied to the impact this bill has on the people those Republicans represent. It's going to take the people who fought against it, too, also being relentless, tirelessly reminding people of the damage these Republicans just did with this bill. New York Congressman Richie Torres represents one of the districts that will be hit hardest by this bill. He joins me here to talk about that at this very table in just 90 seconds.

[Richie Torres]

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[Jen Psaki]

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[Amy Klobuchar]

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[Jen Psaki]

Okay, let's talk about Claude, the if you know, you know, AI assistant that's got everyone buzzing. Clawd is like having a super smart, emotionally intelligent buddy in your pocket that responds like a real person would. Claude can help with just about anything, whether you need advice, inspiration, or even someone to help craft that perfect text to your crush, Claude can switch from being your life coach to your personal stylist to your side hustle strategist, all in one conversation. Head to Claude.com, that's C-L-A-U--E.com and start chatting with Claude for free. Joining me now is Democratic Congressman Richie Torres of New York. His district stands to be one of the hardest hit by the big ugly bill that Republicans just passed. It's good to see you. And I know you've been talking about this relentlessly, but I think it's so important for people to understand how this will impact people. As I understand it, 67% of your constituents are enrolled in Medicaid. That is one of the largest percentages of any congressional district in the country. The other one that's about as large is David Valdeo out in California. Talk to me a little bit about this bill's now passed today. How is that going to affect both of your districts?

[Amy Klobuchar]

I mean, I represent the Bronx, which is ground zero for racially concentrated poverty.

[Jen Psaki]

Yeah.

[Amy Klobuchar]

67% of my residents are enrolled in Medicaid. One third of my residents are enrolled in snap. Just about every hospital in my district is in the red or teetering on the brink and depends fundamentally on on Medicaid. And so the Republican reconciliation bill is a catastrophe. You know, when America sneezes, the Bronx gets the flu. And the Bronx is going to be the hardest hit by the trillion dollar cut to Medicaid and the $300 billion cut to SNAP. But I have to say, it's galling for me to see Valadao vote for the bill. He's the only member of Congress who has a higher rate of Medicaid enrollment than I do. And for him to vote to defund by a trillion dollars a program that enrolls two thirds of his own constituents, to me is the ultimate betrayal. Like, he has no business being in Congress. I barely know the man, but I'm appalled by his behavior.

[Jen Psaki]

It is appalling. You fought like hell to prevent this from passing, as did many, many of your colleagues. The question I often get is like, what can be done? What can be done about all of these people who are gonna lose access? Is the answer. Vote people out in a year and a half, or is there anything that can be done before then?

[Amy Klobuchar]

We need to hold the so called moderate Republicans accountable in states like New York. Like, we have to ask them, where do your loyalties lie? Do your loyalties lie with the American people or does it lie with Donald Trump? And consistently, these so called moderates have chosen Donald Trump over the American people. And we should hold them accountable and we should drive them out of power. And we need to desperately win back the house in 2026. I'm all in for Hakeem Jeffries project 2026 because we have to reverse these cuts. This is a catastrophe for America. It affects everything. Food, health care, everything. Education.

[Jen Psaki]

We just played kind of a bit from every hour of Jeffries I thought it was very powerful. It brought the bill to be voted. It didn't prevent the bill from passing. How important was him doing that to the caucus?

[Amy Klobuchar]

Look, it just sends a powerful message that we're not going to stand by idly and allow Donald Trump to decimate the social safety net for working people. And I thought his speech was powerful. You know, he spoke about the Declaration of Independence, which is an indictment of tyranny. It's an indictment of an out of control king. And Donald Trump thinks that he's a king and that we are his subjects. And leader Jeffrey sent a powerful message that we're not his subjects. America's a democracy and we're citizens who are able and willing ready to fight for it.

[Jen Psaki]

One of the challenges I think every Democrat and everybody who's against this bill is going to deal with is what I'm just going to call the era of gaslighting that we fully entered. And I want to play you something that House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said during the debate over the bill this morning because it is a very good example of that.

[Amy Klobuchar]

If you're disabled on Medicaid right now, you've been crowded out of those programs by people turning down work, able bodied people, 35 year olds sitting at home playing video games. They're going to now have to go get a job. That's right. And by the way, that's a good thing for them. Their mom doesn't want them sitting in the basement playing video games anyway. But now it no longer will be crowding out Medicaid for the truly needy people who deserve it.

[Jen Psaki]

We're not trying to, you know, platform Steve Scalise it's important people to hear what the argument is going to be because we're going to hear that over and over and over and over again. You know how this impacts people. Given your district, what is the best pushback and argument against that for people.

[Amy Klobuchar]

To do the truth? The so called big beautiful bill is built on a lie that there are masses of welfare kings and welfare kings who are simply sitting on their couches and playing video games and living off the system. That is a lie. The majority of people on SNAP and Medicaid are working people. And of those who are unemployed, most of them are students or caregivers or those who are homeless or those with temporary disabilities. The number of people who are able bodied and simply refuse to work is vanishingly small. It's less than 1% of enrollees in both SNAP and Medicaid. The majority of people on SNAP are families with children, senior citizens and those with disabilities. And in New York State, most of the Medicaid dollars are spent on the elderly and the disabled, the largest category of Medicaid enrollees or children. These are programs that almost exclusively benefit those in greatest need. And defunding these programs will weaken those in greatest need.

[Jen Psaki]

This is what people should tell their neighbors and people on social media about this, which is why I want to ask you about it. I just want to change gears for a moment because you're also, you're from New York. You're represented the Bronx.

[Amy Klobuchar]

Quite a bit happening in New York.

[Jen Psaki]

There's a few things happening. You endorsed Mamdani's opponent. But what's been so interesting for me to watch, and I think so many, and you have major policy differences with him you can certainly talk about. But you said you're committed to work with him if he should win. And you've also been relentless, I would say, in defending and pushing back against these Islamophobic attacks against him. Talk to me about what that means to you, why you've been doing that and kind of how you see the state of this race moving forward.

[Amy Klobuchar]

Well, look, first of all, unlike Republicans, Democrats accept the results of the election, Right?

[Jen Psaki]

Not all, but yes, the people of.

[Amy Klobuchar]

The Democratic primary have spoken and I accept the results.

[Jen Psaki]

Right.

[Amy Klobuchar]

I have profound differences of opinion with Assemblymember Mamdani, but we had a mutually respectful conversation last weekend and we're committed to building a relationship and continuing the dialogue. But I have a deeply felt obligation to speak out against hate, whether it's anti Jewish bigotry or anti Muslim bigotry. And as an example, I'm in the process of drafting a resolution that would condemn Andy Ogles for not only engaging in racist rhetoric about Leader Jeffries, but also in calling upon the attorney general to deport a Muslim American Democratic nominee simply because he's Muslim American. Like that kind of bigotry has no place in the United States of America. America is and should be a multiracial, multi ethnic, multi religious democracy whose creed is E pluribus unum. That's what we should be celebrating on Independence Day.

[Jen Psaki]

So we'll see that Andy Ogle's resolution.

[Amy Klobuchar]

When you get back in the day. I'm making news here.

[Jen Psaki]

All right. Well, there we go. Watch out, Indy Ogles. It's coming. Thank you so much for being here with me and really helping us understand what's in this vial, Bill, as I'm just going to shorthand it. Coming up, even before the ink from Donald Trump's Sharpie is dry on the bill, one rural health clinic has already closed. It will close because of the cuts that are coming. Senator Amy Klobuchar is standing by and she's going to join me next Foreign.

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[Jen Psaki]

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[Amy Klobuchar]

Didn'T stop for a Big Mac or.

[Jen Psaki]

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[Donald Trump]

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[Jen Psaki]

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[Donald Trump]

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[Jen Psaki]

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[Jen Psaki]

Efficient software that can handle everything for a fraction of the price. Sign up [e-mail] that's o-o.com because Republicans know that cuts to programs like Medicaid and food assistance are political poison, they went out of their way to make sure that the worst of the cuts in their bill don't go into effect until after the midterm elections. It's a pretty callous political calculation, but despite Republican smoke and mirrors, it doesn't change the truth that people will suffer from this bill. And they are seeing what that impact will be on the local level through lots of news coverage that looks like this.

[Donald Trump]

Doctors say those in rural towns could be hit the hardest, but more than half the state is at some risk.

[Amy Klobuchar]

The bill's Medicaid cuts could lead to 280,000 people in Louisiana losing coverage. About 200 to 470,000 Coloradans could lose coverage.

[Hakeem Jeffries]

As many as 200,000 Georgians could lose.

[Jen Psaki]

Medicaid coverage or private insurance through Georgia Access. Almost immediately, the state could lose 20,000 hospital jobs. Missouri leaders say the effects of these changes could be catastrophic.

[Amy Klobuchar]

It's either staff goes, services stop or hospitals close for good.

[Jen Psaki]

Losing insurance is associated with increasing mortality. Republicans may try to write off those local reports from across the country, although local TV is a very trusted source of news. But we're already seeing the real world impact of this big, ugly bill as well. Just today, a hospital in southwest Nebraska announced plans to close its outpost in a small rural community. In a statement, the president and CEO of Community Hospital said, unfortunately, the current financial environment, driven by anticipated federal budget cuts to Medicaid, has made it impossible for us to continue operating all of our services. Joining me now is Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. Senator Klobuchar, it's great to see you. And you and I have talked about the impact on rural communities and rural healthcare and hospitals before, and I just wanted to get your thoughts on that last piece of news. I mean, the bill just passed today. This is in anticipation of the impact. What are you anticipating in terms of rural medical facilities in your state as a result of this bill passing?

[Hakeem Jeffries]

I don't know every detail in my state, but I know what we're going to see nationally and I know exactly what happened in Nebraska because these hospitals are operating on a thin margin, right? They always are on a thin margin. And I remember one of the Republican senators said, well, no one's going to notice. They aren't going to notice this happen. They're going to forget about it. Hospitals can't afford to do that. They have a bottom line. So what you're going to see, and we've already, by the way, the Republicans about it, as in one Senator Thom Tillis, over the Medicaid issue, spoke the truth, had the audacity to talk the truth, and then was threatened with the primary and decided not to run again. So I think one of the first roadkills, sadly to all of this, are going to be these rural hospitals, 300 of them, 500 nursing homes. One out of two people in assisted living are people who are on Medicaid. You also have 500 billion in Medicare cuts that were triggered by the fact that this big, beautiful betrayal of the American people adds $4 trillion in debt. Do you Know what? We just got the numbers, Jen. That is $30,000 for every household. That adds $1,000 for every mortgage. So, yeah, they tried to hide a bunch of this stuff till later after the midterms, but some of this stuff is going to hit in right away.

[Jen Psaki]

Yeah, like rural hospitals is a good example of that. The deficit numbers. I mean, there's so much pearl clutching over that. It's. It's kind of ironic. Let me ask you. I mean, it seems like a year ago, although it was just a couple of days ago, that this bill passed the Senate. And your colleague, Senator Lisa Murkowski, who I know you've worked with on a range of things, but ended up being the deciding vote for passage in the Senate after she seemed to extract concessions specifically for her state. How disappointed were you when she did that? What do you make of it?

[Hakeem Jeffries]

I was very disappointed in that, putting it mildly. I think the people are really going to be disappointed are the veterans, as we go into 4th of July tomorrow, who are going to have their SNAP benefits either eliminated or reduced. I think the people that are going to be really upset are the people who are going to be thrown off their health care. That's 17 million people. And the worst of the whole thing is that a number of the changes that were made to help Alaska actually dragged in a whole bunch of bad stuff. And my favorite example is on SNAP, it's $200 billion in cuts for food assistance. And as Torres just described, Congressman Torres, the majority of these people, seniors, people with disabilities, veterans, kids. Well, this is going to really hit in rural. One of the things they did to help Alaska was say that the states with the highest error rates with snap, because Alaska is the highest. And they couldn't get that by the parliamentarian to just single out Alaska. They tried Alaska and Hawaii. They tried Alaska and D.C. and they finally ended up with the 10 states with the biggest error rates. Those states get one to two years off of having any of these cost shift cuts. My favorite example, and there's many, is that Florida, which has a high error rate, could avoid for two years paying a billion a year in their cost shifts. And Texas, that has a lower error rate, will pay $700 million each year. Jen, you can't make this up, but was all about reeling in Alaska. And that's what they did. And you see a number of just completely crazy things they want to get rid of waste, fraud and abuse. They're actually encouraging it. Because if I'm a governor in a state, I'm like, get My error rate up because it could save me a billion dollars a year on a state budget where you already have 44 states that have. They have balanced budget amendments and the like.

[Jen Psaki]

It's hard to make sense of is one way to describe it. Let me just ask you. I mean, overnight we all went to bed last night, not that I think we were all hopeful all of a sudden that the bill would fail, but. But there were people who were gonna vote against it. And then they flipped. And yesterday this part from the Times stuck out to me and I wanna know what you thought of it. It had this paragraph here where it said, a Congo. Line of angsty Republican lawmakers filed through the West Wing on Wednesday. They walked out with signed merchandise photos in the Oval Office and by some accounts, a newfound appreciation for the bill. I don't. I mean, so many people came out against the bill and they just got signed photos. Is that what we're talking about here?

[Hakeem Jeffries]

Or maybe hats or maybe a meme coin, Jen. I mean, this is an outrageous thing. As you know, this is all about bunch of tax cuts for the wealthiest on the backs of American people. American people hate it. Two to one they are against this bill. 60% of them are. Again, they say that it would actually help the wealthiest. It's a 2 to 1 margin. People that believe it'll help the wealthiest and they're very right against those people that think it's going to help them. And once they hear that, whether it was kickbacks to Alaska or whether it was a MAGA hat or whether it was a signed photo, those kinds of things, when they put people's lives at risk and they make it harder for their family to get a mortgage, harder to pay their rent, harder to be able to make sure they put food on the table. This will be the defining moment of this Republican Party. And we've been heading this way. It is. Chaos is up, as you point out, hospital closures are going to be up and corruption is up all the while, while the American people's fortunes, the vast majority, not the wealthiest, will go down. That's what's happening right now. And that's why the focus will be on making this point every single day. Hakeem Jeffries made it in a great dramatic way. We saw in the Senate led by Senator Schum, vote after vote after vote, holding these guys accountable for the fact that they want to have these tax cuts for the wealthiest. They care. They say they care about the deficit, and then they're giving hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax cuts. To multimillionaires. That is not going to sit well with the American people.

[Jen Psaki]

No. I expect the more they learn about it, the less they're going to like it. We see that in poll after poll. Senator Amy Klobuchar, thank you so much for joining me on on the eve of July 4th and coming up. My whole life I've been greedy, greedy, greedy. I've grabbed all the money I could get. I'm so greedy.

[Amy Klobuchar]

My whole life has been money, I want money, I want money.

[Jen Psaki]

Greedy, I was greedy, greedy. I want more money. Old habits die hard, I guess. We've got new reporting on how grim Trump's financial situation was getting last spring and the incredibly shady ways in which the cash started flowing in. We'll be right back. 14 years ago, way before he rode down that escalator in Trump Tower, Donald Trump was the subject of a Comedy Central roast. Ever watch one of those things? Comedians and other celebrities get together to tell the most insulting jokes they can think of about their roastie, all while that person sits there and has to just smile and take all the abuse. Donald Trump sat there and smiled rather unconvincingly, I would say, while person after person made fun of his hair, his weight, his sex life, his family, his budding presidential aspirations. But apparently there was one thing that no one was allowed to joke about. A writer for the event and one of the comedians who roasted Trump both said that Trump's one rule was don't say I have less money than I say I do. Literally anything else was fair game. That was it. He's always been incredibly sensitive about the perception of his wealth. And of course, we would all soon learn too late as it turned out that Donald Trump's image of immense business acumen, success and wealth is a mirage. I mean, during his first term in the White House, the New York Times reported that far from being a self made business genius, Trump got tens of millions of dollars from his father, blew through it all in a series of failed businesses. And that has vaunted real estate empire has always been a black hole of financial losses that he is constantly scrambling to keep afloat. That was all in there. And now the New York Times is out with a new piece based on a review of 2000, 2000 of Trump's financial documents that shares some, I would say, pretty eye popping insights into the rollercoaster of Trump's financial circumstances. I mean, the reporting reels that after his first term, Trump's financial situation only got worse. At his signature Trump Tower in New York, the Escalators are now roped off because they don't go anywhere. All the luxury retailers that used to pay Trump rent are gone. His office tower on Wall street is a quarter vacant, and its revenue is millions short of what he needs just for mortgage payments. At Trump tower in Chicago, 70,000 square feet of retail space has been empty ever since it was finished 16 years ago. 16 years. Even when Trump sold his infamous DC hotel a couple years ago for an impressive sum, he still managed to lose money on the project. Things were pretty grim. That's the point for Donald Trump and his family business. And then he won the presidency a second time, and everything miraculously began to change. He got multiple foreign licensing deals, including several in Saudi Arabia and several Saudi investments in his golf courses. A parade of Trump branded products, from shoes to guitars to bibles to fragrances to phones, and, of course, the hard pivot to cryptocurrency, something Trump called a scam just a few years ago. As the Times put it, quote, many of the deals opened multiple channels for anyone to funnel cash to a sitting president, often in ways that are untraceable. We've all watched this carnival of corruption unfold, and we have all marveled at the eagerness of the Trump family to use his office to line his pockets. But what the Times reports is that we may be missing part of the story here if we see this all as just a gleeful money grab, bad as that is, of course, here's what they said. Quote, an analysis by the New York Times of thousands of pages of internal Trump Organization documents filed in one of the legal actions against him suggests a more urgent motivation for Mr. Trump's behavior, a need, rather than simply a desire for easy money to keep his empire intact. And, you know, it's bad enough to have a president who just seems to get a kick out of squeezing every penny he can from his office, but it's definitely worse to have a president who feels like he has to squeeze every penny he can from his office because his businesses are in such dire straits. That's like the definition of being compromised, I will tell you that. Eric Trump, who runs his father's businesses, did give the New York Times a statement for this article. He said, in part this Our portfolio is operating flawlessly, and 2025 will mark the strongest year in the remarkable history of the Trump Organization. Hard to argue that the Times reports that the new cash has already helped solve old problems. So just remember, even as he is tanking the US Economy, which he is definitely doing, even as he is ripping health care away from millions. He does still seem to have a knack for using his job to make money for himself. Coming up, remember how Joni Ernst responded to a constituent's question about the big ugly bill? Remember, we all do. By saying, we're all gonna die. Well, so does my next guest. Nathan Sage is challenging Senator Ernst in Iowa, and he joins me. Now that Trump's bill has passed both chambers in Congress, he's going on a victory lap of sorts. He traveled to Iowa this evening to give a speech at the Iowa State Fair, which was a choice considering tens of thousands of people living in Iowa who stand to lose their health insurance because of this bill. It was also kind of a brazen decision given the fact that Iowa's junior senator has not really been. Shall I call it on message when it comes to Trump's big ugly bill, People are not dying. Well, we all are going to die with a smile. People are going to die. Senator Ernst, of course, did vote for that bill that at the very least will kick thousands of people in her home state off their health insurance, the state she represents. And, hey, according to Ernst, again, we will all die someday. So I guess there's that. But Democrats are not going to let her forget it. Definitely not. Or the president, for that matter, as long as he is in Iowa. This billboard was just put up by the DNC in Des Moines outside the fairgrounds where Donald Trump spoke tonight, reminding him about the exact number of Iowans who will lose their health care because of his signature legislation. 113,979 Iowans. There you go. It's also a good reminder for any of Joni Ernst's constituents driving by in case they forgot about her role in this message, we're all going to die. Senator Ernst is up for reelection next year, and her slip of sorts about Trump's bill is already hounding her on the campaign trail, as it should. Three Democrats have already jumped into the race to try and unseat her next fall. One of them, a retired Marine named Nathan Sage, was actually at the town hall where Joni Ernst made those infamous comments. He says, quote, I was at this town hall and saw her say this live. My jaw almost hit the floor. I'm running against her to get her the hell out of the Senate. Well said. Joining me now is Nathan Sage, who is running for the Democratic nomination in the Iowa Senate race. Talk to me. It was brazen. It was bold. I want to hear what you have to say. Talk to me about Donald Trump choosing Iowa as the place to celebrate Congress's passing of his big ugly bill.

[Donald Trump]

Well, you know, he lied. Now people are going to die and we all know it. And I think he needs to rally his troops to kind of make sure that he still has good favor here. Because I feel like, you know, 100,000 Iowans gonna lose healthcare, They're a little pissed off. I think we're all pretty upset with what's going on. And yeah, I think he's again, just trying to rally the troops to make sure that he still has favor here because, you know, it hasn't been that good for the past month, especially after Joni said what she said.

[Jen Psaki]

So you've been out there campaigning, what have you been hearing from voters? And give us a little preview of the argument you're gonna be making about this over the coming days and weeks, given how Ernst voted on it.

[Donald Trump]

Well, you know, a lot of people are frustrated. They'll say things to me like, you know, how, how is this going to, how is this happening? Why is this happening? I met with a woman that was in a wheelchair in Bettendorf a month ago and she was death like teary eyed, trying to figure out what she's going to do when they cut her Medicaid. I grew up, you know, with food stamps and understanding these programs and how they work and how my family depended on them. And so people are just upset. It's not just even like mad anymore. It's like this eerie sadness of like, what are we doing? What are we doing? We're watching our healthcare go away. We're watching our SNAP benefits go away. And we're watching people who already have way more money than we could ever imagine get more money. All because people like Donald Trump and Joni Ernst don't give a crap about us. And that's the message. I talk to people when I, when I talk to them is like, listen, the only way we're ever going to get out of this mess is to elect working class people like myself that can represent us. Because we know what it's like to be there. We know what, what it's like to deal with this. We know how hard life really is. And people like Joni Ernst and Donald Trump, they don't. They know what it's like to, you know, go without. A couple hundred thousand are there here, but at the end of the day, they don't know what it's like to. When we have 385,000 Iowans that are facing food insecurity and you're going to take their food away with the SNAP benefits. Like that's mind blowing to so many people. And we're just supposed to sit here and take it? No, we're going to stand up and we're going to fight and we're going to make sure that they own it. We're going to shove it down their throats. Because at the end of the day, we need to do something different. We need to fight for what we believe in. And I'm not going to sit idly by and watch the people that I love die.

[Jen Psaki]

I think your passion is what people are intrigued by right now. One of the many things let me ask you. I mean, you and your opponents are in this race in part. I mean, you and I have talked about this because of what Senator Ernst said, and that's a big part of your argument. I should say all of you who are in this race, talk to me a little about you're in a primary. What differentiates you from the other candidates in the race and how are you going to make that argument?

[Donald Trump]

Well, I think when you look at it, one, I'm a veteran, and I'm the only veteran in the group. I think to beat a veteran, you got to beat a veteran. But at the end of the day, I'm also, like I said, working class guy. I know what the struggle is. I grew up in a trailer park. I watched my dad work double shifts. I watched them die of cancer, my dad and my mom. I know the struggle of everyday life. I know what it's like to try to sell my mom's house after she passes. I know what it's like to grow up and boil water on a stove to you so you can take a bath because you can't afford to fix the water heater. I know what it's like to live like that. I know how hard this world is. And a lot of the people that are running and have Iran don't really understand the struggle that we're going through. So I can relate to voters and people on a different level. And again, if you can't figure out, I'm not scared to say what needs to be said to get the point across and we're done. We're tired of this world that we're living in. We're tired of what we're getting and we need to stand up and we need to come together and fight. And since I've been doing this, we've had people from both sides, right and left, come over. We've had people say, hey, Nathan, I didn't know who you were until my Trump loving Republican son told me that you're the guy you vote for. So they know that they want someone to fight. And that's what I'm trying to do is fight. And I think that's what we have to do as Democrats and make these Republicans own it, own this bill and stand up and say, hey, we're not doing this anymore. It's time to take over and it's time to fight. It's time to lead.

[Jen Psaki]

Nathan Sage, I know it's Iowa State Fair season. I love the Iowa State Fair. Hope you get to go. Thank you so much for joining me. I really appreciate it. Coming up, the Supreme Court takes up a case on a solution in search of a problem. I'm going to explain that when we come back. Today, we learned that the U.S. supreme Court in its next term will decide the constitutionality of states banning transgender athletes from competing in girls and women's sports. The cases stems from challenges to restrictions against trans athletes passed in West Virginia and Idaho. But let's be clear. Despite the completely exhaustive coverage and manufactured panic you hear from the right, the reality of trans athletes in sports in this country is simply not what they want you to think it is. I mean, just this year, the president of the NCAA said that out of the 510,000 athletes competing at the collegiate level, there are fewer than 10 who publicly identify as transgender. Fewer than 10. That's approximately 0.001% of college athletes at the youth sports and high school level. There are also incredibly few examples as well. I mean, in fact, in 2020 and 2021, legislators in more than 20 states introduced legislation banning transgender youth participation in sports. And in almost every case, those Republican lawmakers could not cite a single instance in their own state or region where trans athlete participation had caused problems. Not a single case. Same goes for West Virginia. One of the states whose ban is headed to the Supreme Court is West Virginia. So that's pretty interesting. Now, back in 2021, my colleague Stephanie Roll asked West Virginia's Republican governor to cite just one example to justify the bill he signed into law. Didn't go so well. Can you name one example of a transgender child trying to gain an unfair competitive adv at a school there in West Virginia?

[Donald Trump]

Well, Stephanie, I don't have that experience exactly to myself right now, but I.

[Jen Psaki]

Will tell you, not yourself, your state. Sir, can you give me one example of a transgender child trying to get an unfair advantage? Just one. In your state, you signed a bill about it.

[Donald Trump]

No I can't really tell you one.

[Jen Psaki]

Hmm. We'll see how this all plays out. But as you begin your Independence Day celebrations, take a moment to consider the current majority in power and how their vision for this country is shaping up to mean freedom. But not for all. That does it for me today. You can catch the show Tuesday through Friday at 9pm Eastern on MSNBC. And don't forget to follow the show on Blue sky, Instagram and TikTok for now. Goodbye from Washington, and we'll see you next week.

[Kelly Ripa]

Hey there, it's Kelly Ripa, and have you been listening to my podcast? We are knee deep in season three, and if you haven't heard it, it's time to get on board. After years of interviewing celebs on camera, I finally get to bring you the real conversations that take place when the cameras aren't rolling. Where else are you going to hear Michelle Obama talk about keeping her girls out of Page Six? Hilaria Baldwin's hilarious reaction to Alec running for office? Or Jeremy Renner's lucid hallucinations about Jamie Foxx? Nowhere else. It's raw, it's honest, and best of all, it's off camera. And believe me, that's where you get the good stuff. So download. Let's talk off Camera with Kelly Rippa now. Wherever you get your podcasts.