The President Doesn’t Know What’s in His Own Damn Bill

Which is worse, a bill that guts America or a president that doesn't know the f*ck is going on?

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Here’s what went down on Wednesday the 2nd, as reported by multiple sources: In a closed-door call with House Republicans, Trump confidently told them not to touch Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid—his holy trinity of “don’t worry, I won’t hurt you” campaign promises—if they want to win reelections. And when someone awkwardly informed him that, actually, the bill he’s pushing does cut Medicaid? He looked surprised.

Let that sink in. The President of the United States—who’s demanding his party pass a nearly thousand-page monstrosity of a bill before the fireworks—had no idea it eviscerates healthcare for millions of people. He is pushing the most consequential domestic policy package of the decade without understanding what’s in it. Or worse, without caring.

But don’t be fooled. The bill in question—the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill”—isn’t even really his. It was stitched together back in January behind the scenes by House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate GOP leaders like John Thune, and White House staffers who know better than to bother Trump with details. This bill is a Frankenstein’s monster of ideological payback: cuts to Medicaid, work requirements for SNAP, accelerated insolvency for Social Security, sneak attacks on federal employees, and a bonanza of tax gifts for the ultra-wealthy. Trump just slapped his name on it like a bad hotel deal and told them to rush it through so he can wave a pen around on the Fourth of July.

Because that’s the part he does understand: Symbolism. Spectacle. The theater of “Independence Day” patriotism wrapped around a corporate coup. What better way to mask a massive redistribution of wealth than with flags, fireworks, and a pen-signing ceremony full of hollow slogans?

This performative urgency is the only thing Trump grasps anymore. He doesn’t know what the bill does, but he knows July 4 is his day to look strong, loud, and in charge. It’s the same impulse that made him demand a military parade. He needs the optics. He needs the image of power. Meanwhile, what little he ever understood of the actual mechanics of government—of policy—has long since slipped from his fingers.

Which brings us to the part no one around him wants to say out loud: the man is not cognitively fit for the job.

That moment on the call with lawmakers wasn’t just a slip—it was a reveal. A real-time glimpse into the vast gap between Trump’s fantasy of power and the actual levers being pulled behind his back. If he were in any kind of control, at the moment he realized this bill contains elements he has railed against, he would have demanded changes. But no, the call continued, the bill continues. It will probably be law by the time this post is published.

And despite the clear evidence that the President of the United States doesn’t comprehend the core content of a bill he’s demanding Congress pass immediately, no one is invoking the 25th Amendment. No one’s stepping up to say: “We’ve crossed a line here.”

Why? Because the line’s been gone for years. Because this version of Trump—the confused, performative, out-of-touch figurehead—is not a glitch in the system. It is the system now. His party doesn’t need him to understand the legislation. They need him to perform for his followers. To be the shiny object while they gut the social contract behind closed doors.

There is one bit of good news here. And this might be the only time I’ve ever said this in regards to Trump, but he was absolutely right. You don’t touch Medicaid, Medicare or Social Security if you want to win re-elections.

This bill is a gift. A brutal, clarifying, politically radioactive gift to the Democrats—especially if they can get their act together. It hits poor people, disabled people, working families, and retirees right where it hurts. And it exposes the President as an empty suit in a red tie, propped up by men with agendas and no conscience.

Here’s the real kicker: Trump may not know what’s in the bill, but voters will. They’ll be feeling the impact for the next two years. If the left plays this right, every Medicaid cut, every slashed food benefit, every eroded pension, will have a name on it.

Donald J. Trump.

Even if Trump is too old to remember his own name, the people will.

Keep resisting. It’s not over until it’s over.

Rosie

🔥 What do you think of this bill? Or a president with no clue? Drop your thoughts in the comments. 👇

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I’m a journalist and novelist whose career was upended by long COVID—years of neurological and physical damage that still keep me in recovery mode most days and prompted an urgent move to lower elevation. But the state of this country lit a fire I couldn’t ignore. So I write when I can, from the margins of exhaustion, because staying silent isn't an option.

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