CNN’s resident number cruncher Harry Enten reckons Donald Trump’s signature “One Big Beautiful Bill” is the most hated piece of legislation Congress has passed in decades.
“I went back into the archives and looked at every piece of major legislation passed since 1990,” Enten told Erin Burnett on OutFront Tuesday night. “The most unpopular bill that was passed? Guess what it is… It’s the Big Beautiful Bill.”
Burnett, clearly surprised, asked if it was “even worse than Obamacare?” “Even worse,” Enten replied. “At minus 8 points was Obamacare. Look at where the Big Beautiful Bill is: 17 points under. There, simply put, isn’t anything even close to how unpopular the Big Beautiful Bill is.”
The data analyst rolled through the grim polling. CNN, CBS, and Fox News all had the bill at minus 19 to minus 22 in net favorability. Pew clocked in at minus 14, while the Wall Street Journal offered the “best” number—minus 10. “When the best you can do is minus 10 points, you know it’s an unpopular bill,” Enten said.
Independent voters were even harsher. Just 30 percent viewed the bill favorably, compared with 69 percent who did not—a staggering 39-point gap. “Elections are won and lost in the center of the electorate,” Enten noted. “If this is what the election is about, you can wave adios, amigos—goodbye to the Republican majority in the House, and you may be able to say it to that Republican majority in the Senate.”
Even within the GOP, Enten said the legislation lags behind Trump’s own popularity. “Good luck to JD Vance trying to sell this bill, that’s all I can say. Look, even among Republican voters, it’s far less popular than Donald Trump is.”
Summing up, Enten said he had never seen a major piece of legislation poll so poorly: “I have not seen a single reputable poll in which this thing is anything more popular than being 10 points underwater. Truthfully, JD Vance, good luck to you, buddy.”
The vice president has been tasked with pitching the Trump administration’s signature policy to a skeptical American public. He has been on the road since late July, discussing the bill’s “benefits for hardworking American families and businesses.” In the latest part of his tour, Vance will be in metro Atlanta on Thursday to sell the bill.
Reflecting a sense of panic, the administration is even trying to find a new name for the legislation. GOP strategists have advised lawmakers to pick a new name using phrases that poll well, such as the “Working Family Tax Cuts” act or even the “Trump Working Family Tax Cuts,” according to NBC.
The White House and representatives for the vice president did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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