If the big, beautiful bill is going to pass through the Senate, Donald Trump knows he needs every vote because of several Republicans who will not support the bill out of spite.
Because of that, Trump cannot afford to lose people like Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), who, to this point, has pushed back against the legislation, but he seems to be softening his stance.
Senator Paul has some real concerns about the bill, and while we both agree that many aspects of the bill are great, there is enough to be worried about that would have Paul vote no when it comes to the floor, if the bill remains untouched.
When Paul expressed his concerns, rather than call Paul in for a conversation, Trump did what he usually does: he hurled threats and insults at the Senator to try to get him to cave, but all it did was make Paul dig in deeper.
Trump posted, “Rand Paul has very little understanding of the BBB, especially the tremendous GROWTH that is coming. He loves voting ‘NO’ on everything, he thinks it’s good politics, but it’s not. The BBB is a big WINNER!!!
“Rand votes NO on everything, but never has any practical or constructive ideas. His ideas are actually crazy (losers!). The people of Kentucky can’t stand him. This is a BIG GROWTH BILL!”
Trump is not a threat to Paul, as his constituents love him and he regularly wins his seat in a romp, yet someone in the administration decided that instead of courting Paul, they would ostracize him to the point of pulling back his tickets for the White House picnic.
When Paul went to claim his tickets and found out they were no longer available to him, he went ballistic, and rightfully so, ripping the administration for its childish behavior.
When Donald Trump was made aware, he softened his tone, saying that “of course” Paul was invited, as well as saying he looked forward to talking to him about the legislation during the event.
Trump stated that he could talk to Paul at the picnic to “get his Vote on the Great, Big, Beautiful Bill, one of the greatest and most important pieces of legislation ever put before our Senators & Congressmen/women... I look forward to seeing Rand.”
While Paul is still sticking to his guns, he is willing to work out a way to get his vote for the bill to pass, but Trump is going to have to work with him on the debt ceiling.
Paul stated, "I’ve let [Trump] know that I’m not an absolute ‘no,’ I can be a ‘yes.' I like the tax cuts… I think there should be more spending cuts, but if they want my vote they’ll have to negotiate, because I don’t want a vote to raise the debt ceiling $5 trillion,"
He added, "Congress is awful with money, so you should give them a more restrictive credit line, not a more expansive one.”
I am with Paul on this one, as Congress has proven time and again that it not only spends like a shopping spree winner, but it also does not hold any department accountable for the money it is spending. Call me a RINO all you want, but I am not willing to back anything that will only create more debt for this country, and as it stands, that is what the BBB does.