Former MSNBC host Chris Matthews warned Republicans that President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill” will make it even harder for the GOP to keep control of the House of Representatives after next year’s midterm election.
Matthews said Trump promised repeatedly during the campaign not to touch Medicaid, a vow that, in particular, may have helped him to win over swing states such as Pennsylvania.
But Trump, he said, wants to “help his rich pals” with tax cuts.
“And where’s he gonna get it from? From your health care, from people that rely on it for Alzheimer’s,” he said on MSNBC on Wednesday. “It’s not just poor people that get Medicaid. It’s middle-class people that resort to Medicaid for long-term care. It’s the only way you can get long-term care for Alzheimer’s patients. And this is real with people.”
Despite promising not to touch Medicaid, Trump’s “big beautiful bill” would strip coverage from up to 11 million people.
“He’s broken his word with the working people of states like Pennsylvania,” Matthews said. “So I think the Democrats have a very good chance of picking up, maybe not the 30 plus seats they normally get in an off-year election, but maybe 15 to 20 seats, which is plenty enough to take over the House of Representatives.”
Winning the House would mean new powers for the party’s legislators.
“They get the subpoena power in their hands, and people like Jamie Raskin, when they get that subpoena power, look out, Donald Trump,” he said, referring to the Maryland Democrat who would be in line to take over as chair of the Judiciary Committee if the House flips.
Trump later in the day attacked Raskin on his Truth Social website, calling him “a third rate Democrat politician” and a “DOPE.”
“I love watching his ugly face as he is forced to consistently concede DEFEAT TO TRUMP — And tonight should be another of those nights,” the president wrote. “Raskin is a bad politician, and a TOTAL LOSER!”
See more of Matthews’ conversation below: