'Horrendous': GOP lawmaker roasted on MSNBC over stunningly weak defense Trump’s megabill

Rep. Mike Flood (R-NE) was inundated with furious constituents at his town hall this week as he tried to sell President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" that cut over $1 trillion from Medicaid and food assistance while slashing taxes on the rich.

But what was particularly revealing, political strategist Cornell Belcher and co-anchor Alicia Menendez noted, was how weak Flood's argument in favor of the legislation actually ended up being — and what it says about the GOP's strategy going forward.

"To all your constituents, you are going to need to sell this legislation, which is why I listened to all of the sound from this town hall. and this is the answer that most stood out to me," said Menendez. "It was Mike Flood when being asked why Dems are wrong about this bill. Here's what he had to say."

"Hey, is any bill perfect? No. Is any bill going to get everybody to sign on and say yes?" said Flood, over shouting and boos. "But this bill did pass. It was signed by the president. And just like the major achievements of prior administrations, this one will provide certainty to Americans on what their taxes will be going into 2026. And this includes a continuation of the tax cuts. The bill protects Medicaid, it gets results, and it's pro-growth."

"So you know, you're walking into that town hall and that critique is coming," said Menendez. "And your opportunity is not just to play defense, it is actually to sell your legislation. The problem is they know they don't have much to sell. If his best argument for this is like, well, you're going to have certainty around your taxes, and there is a tax break that is being offered to the wealthiest Americans at a time when you are trying to say that Republicans represent the working class, you are not connecting the dots for your voters."

Belcher concurred.

"I have to underline this because it's so important for us political operatives, right?" he said. "That is a horrendous answer for stuff like this. Going into where you're starting knowing that this is going to be that's the best you have at some point. I do think, like we saw, I think in 2018, where Republicans pulled their advertising around their tax bill and they tried to pivot and change ... the conversation, I think the window is closing on them, changing public opinion on this on this bill. And I think they're going to have to pivot soon."

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