On Thursday morning, the bizarrely named One Big Beautiful Bill was passed in the House of Representatives—by just one vote—after an all-night marathon session.
The bill aims to make tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans permanent as well as punish blue states with a cap on state and local tax deductions (SALT). As a result, Republican Representatives from the high tax districts most affected by the SALT deduction cap had been blocking the bill's passage in the GOP controlled House.
After coming to an agreement to increase the SALT federal itemized tax deduction cap to $40,000, the bill finally passed and now heads to the Senate.
To celebrate, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and MAGA Republican President Donald Trump spoke in the hall of the Capitol Building in an off-the-cuff press gaggle.
When asked what his message was to his fellow "New Yorker" Republicans who oppose the SALT cap portion of the bill, Trump launched into a rambling absurd tangent which meandered its way to The Big Lie about his popular and electoral vote losses in California, New York and Illinois.
The MAGA POTUS told the press:
"These are all very blue states that I don’t really believe we had honest elections. I think I would’ve won California, I would’ve won New York. I even think I would’ve won Illinois."
Trump then launched into another tangent as Johnson continuously smiled and bobbed his head up and down.
You can see the moment here:
Trump failed to specify which years he was referencing.
But he lost by no small margin in all three states in 2016, 2020, and 2024.
270toWIN data graphic by Comic Sands
People were unsurprised that Trump is still using every opportunity to whine and lie about his election losses.
@odinikaeze/X
@deusxmacchiato/Bluesky
@chicagochris50/X
While some pointed out how unhinged Trump sounds.
@alexanderkaiju/X
According to IRS data compiled by the Bipartisan Policy Center and Don't Mess With Taxes, residents of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and California as well as the cities of Salt Lake City, Utah; Miami, Florida; and Austin and Houston, Texas benefited greatly from SALT deductions.
These states and municipalities have more wealthy taxpayers and luxury homeowners—and more than a few Republicans representing them in Congress, even in the so-called blue states.
According to the Tax Foundation, Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill also introduces other supposed pro-growth initiatives "resulting in a package that provides a modest boost to the economy but at a huge fiscal cost...all of which violate basic tax principles of treating taxpayers equally."
Senate Republicans have already made clear their intention to rewrite and eliminate multiple portions of Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill now that it's in their hands.
@Donald_from_HI/X
Sheriff Jesse Watts-retired/Facebook
@bwebster0303/X
