A One Big Beautiful Bonanza for the 1%

A condensed overview of 19 hours of Fox News for the week ending 7/6/25

Jul 09, 2025

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Last week as most Americans looked forward to an extended holiday weekend Fox News went into overdrive as it promoted and pushed Trump’s - One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB). Since Trump created his massive budget reconciliation bill Fox News has spoken about it in vague and broad terms.

No one at the network spent much energy discussing what was included in the legislation until it was in the final stages of gaining enough votes in the House and Senate. Once it was close to getting over the finish line the folks at Fox knew their job was to champion it at all costs.

Even during the network’s three-hour Independence Day celebration Fox included extended segments about the success of OBBB. Most of what the Fox News audience learned about the legislation was inaccurate, misleading or downright false.

In poll after poll the OBBB remained unpopular with most Americans across the political spectrum. Even several Republican lawmakers in both houses were concerned about the legislation yet all but a handful fell in line to vote for it when pressured by their glorious leader.

The OBBB is a monster designed to inflict most of its damage after the midterm elections. As the poorest Americans lose SNAP benefits and Medicaid the wealthiest will have a few more dollars and the country will come closer to financial ruin.

One of the most disturbing aspects of OBBB is it will take the annual budget for ICE from about $8 billion to $100 billion over the next four years making it the largest federal law enforcement agency. I don’t have space to go through the entire law here but The NY Times complied a comprehensive list of nearly everything in OBBB.

Shows I covered last week:

Fox & Friends - All three hours on Thursday
The Five
Hannity
July 4th Celebration - Three-hour program during primetime

Fox News Lied About a Looming Tax Increase

On Monday “Fox & Friends” opened with a short clip of President Trump warning the American public what would happen if his mega-bill didn’t pass.

“If we don't have it, there's a 68% tax increase,” said Trump in an undated clip from “Sunday Morning Futures.”

Later Lawrence Jones repeated Trump’s dire warning as he stood before a massive screen that included graphics about various aspects of the legislation.

“Without this bill, taxes were going to go up I think about 68%, guys.”

His co-host Ainsley Earhardt also drove the point home more than once.

“Well, no one wants a 68% tax increase . . . So, this would make our tax that the tax cuts from 2017 permanent. Sounds fair. Who can afford 68% tax increase? . . Yeah, that's because voters if voters knew that they were their taxes were about to increase 60 some odd percent, then they might not vote for a Republican because they couldn't get this passed.”

Later in the week Sean Hannity appeared to inadvertently include the truth about the bill.

“They will be voting for the largest tax increase in American history. As Speaker Johnson rightly is pointing out, they are supporting a $4 trillion, dollar tax increase, the largest in American history. This includes a tax increase of 62% on American families,” said Hannity.

In a split screen Hannity included a scrolling list of warnings under the headline “What Voting Against OBBB Means.” One of the items read ‘Increasing taxes for 62% of Americans.’

‘Increasing taxes for 62% of Americans’ does not have the same meaning as ‘Americans will get hit was a 68% tax increase.’

According to reporting by Politifact the average tax increase for most Americans if OBBB didn’t pass would have been 7.5% nowhere near 68%. The Urban Institute-Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan think tank, couldn’t find a single tax bracket what would see a 68% tax hike if OBBB hadn’t passed.

The OBBB included a provision that would make Trump’s previous tax cuts from 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, permanent. If the bill didn’t pass the tax cuts would expire and some Americans would face a slight increase in their tax bills.

The 62% number included in Hannity’s scrolling list of doom might have been based on The Tax Policy Center’s estimate that just over 64% of American taxpayers would have seen an increase in their taxes without the extension to Trump’s 2017 cuts.

Lower-income households would be the least affected if the OBBB didn’t pass as many don’t even make enough to pay federal income taxes. The poorest American will likely lose more in benefits than they’ll save in any tax cuts.

This chart from the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center shows that the top 1% of taxpayers get the largest benefit from the extension of Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

According to reporting by the Washington Post and analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy more than 20% percent of the cuts will go to the top 1%, those earning more than $916,900.

More of the Supply Side Economic Gospel

Since the Reagan era Republicans have worshipped at the altar of supply-side economics. Investopedia breaks down supply-side economics into three basic tenets.

Reducing corporate income tax rates
Decreasing capital borrowing rates
Loosening business or government regulations

Devotees of supply side economic theory insist that lowering taxes on corporations and high earners will stimulate enough growth in the economy to make up for any lost tax revenue.

On Monday Sean Hannity insisted that the OBBB would not increase the deficit.

“The big beautiful bill also does not increase the deficit. Instead, the deficit will go down around a little shy of $2 trillion. That's to begin with, according to estimates. But we know that when Reagan cut taxes and President Trump cut taxes, cutting taxes, and Reagan's case doubled revenues to the federal government, except Congress spent $1.25 for every new dollar they brought in. Because that's what happens when you cut taxes. It stimulates the economy, creates jobs, takes people off the welfare rolls. Guess what? People are working now. They're paying taxes. And that will benefit working class Americans. The most in this bill,” said Hannity.

On Wednesday on “The Five” Greg Gutfeld also sang the praises of supply side economics.

“If you tax cuts, if you cut taxes, the deficit will balloon. Well, not if you grow the economy, because then that shrinks the percentage of debt. You hope that happens. And usually it does. They also don't mention that raising taxes won't shrink the deficit if you spend it before you even put it in the bank account, which is what Democrats do whenever they raise taxes.”

There’s a lot to unpack with both statements. For starters the economy Ronald Reagan inherited was quite different than the one Trump faces now. In the early 1980’s the U.S. was coming out of an extended recession with stagflation - high interest rates, stagnant growth, high unemployment and high inflation.

Republicans haven’t been fiscally conservative when it comes to spending in decades. GOP lawmakers might cut spending on programs that help lower income Americans only to increase the defense budget and other programs that align with their political point of view.

According to Investopedia Republican presidents have added more to the national debt per term than Democrats - But Democratic Presidents added more debt overall. Both parties have played a role in increasing the national debt.

Although some economists still believe cutting taxes on the wealthiest Americans and corporations is the best way to stimulate an economy supply-side economic theory is not without its critics.

Real economies don’t exist as a neat and tidy supply-side model might on paper. Lowering tax rates on the very wealthy and corporations has created giant deficits and ballooned the national debt. According to the Committee for a Responsible Fiscal Budget tax cuts have attributed to 37% of the debt crisis over time.

Tax cuts don’t always lead to more jobs, new factories, capital investment or higher productivity. Since the 1980’s income inequality has exploded, wages have stagnated and the cost of homes, automobiles, and college tuition have risen dramatically when adjusted for inflation.

Another myth that both Hannity and Gutfeld promoted is the idea that cutting taxes will stimulate the economy enough to make up the lost tax revenue. Simply put tax cuts don’t pay for themselves.

From Investopedia:

Data shows that budget deficits exploded during Reagan’s era of tax cuts. According to the New York University Stern School of Business, the public debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio rose to 50.6% in 1992 from 26.1% in 1979.

The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) similarly shot down talk of tax cuts paying for themselves. Based on its estimates, for each dollar of income tax cuts, only 17 cents will be recovered from greater spending. National Bureau of Economic Research. “Dynamic Scoring: A Back-of-the-Envelope Guide.”

The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget found that the interest payments on the debt will rise to $2 trillion per year according to reporting by the Washington Post.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates the legislation could add $3.3 trillion to deficits over the next ten years.

Brian Kilmeade - Fire the Ref!

On Wednesday on “Fox & Friends” Brian Kilmeade suggested firing the Senate Parliamentarian.

“You could promise somebody something because they have two other opportunities to do reconciliation. Hey, guys. Pass it here. We'll go back and maybe get a new polymer material when we go back. Because this part we try and stay away, staying in the middle of a lot of, improvements to this bill,” said Kilmeade.

Kilmeade faced some immediate pushback from Chad Pergram a correspondent from the legit news team at Fox.

“Yeah. We don't think that they're going to fire the parliamentarian. You know, this is kind of like going to a baseball game, and you don't have to do it. Yeah. Well, again, here's the other thing. I'll note on that. There are only so many people in Washington who can do that job who are qualified. You know, and this is like when you go to a baseball game, you don't like the calls by the umpire if it goes against your team. But you sure like it when it goes your way. And there were certain things that they did like that the parliamentarian ruled in favor here.”

The Senate Parliamentarian blocked Trump’s attempt to remove taxes from Social Security. This hasn’t stopped the president from declaring there is now “no tax on Social Security.”

The bill as signed, includes a $6000 additional tax credit for Americans 65 and older that will expire in 2028. Other restrictions, including on wealthy recipients and people in the program under 65 would still pay taxes on their Social Security benefits.

Only 7.8 Million People Will Lose Their Health Insurance!

On Wednesday on “The Five” Dana Perino thought she was making a brilliant point about the Medicaid cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill.

“On the health care front, Joey, every time a Democrat goes on TV, they add 2 to 3 million more to how many people are going to lose their health care. It's 7.8 million people that would be required to do these work requirements and illegal immigrants at 7.8 million.”

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that 17 million Americans could lose their health insurance by the end of the next decade due to the OBBB.

Fox News ADMITS OBBB Will Cut Medicaid

During its three-hour Independence Day celebration Fox News included a brief live news update.

“This is Fox News Live. I'm Marianne Rafferty in Los Angeles. President Trump's big, beautiful bill is now the law of the land. The president signing the spending bill into law during a July 4th picnic at the white House. The legislation extends Trump's 2017 tax cuts. It also provides a huge increase in funds for the military and immigration enforcement, but potentially brings steep cuts to Medicaid and food stamps.”

Stories Fox News Ignored

Every week I compare the hours I’ve watched on Fox News to five hours of the PBS News Hour. The following list are stories that PBS covered that Fox News did not. Source - PBS News Hour transcripts. This week’s list is truncated due to space.

Updates in the Israel-Hamas war
- On Monday Palestinian officials say Israeli airstrikes killed more than 60 people, including at a cafe in northern Gaza and outside a food distribution site in southern Gaza. Over a period of a few days Israel increased its bombardment in Northern Gaza and demanded residents flee to Southern Gaza. (PBS News Hour)
- On Tuesday more than 165 international charities and aid organizations called for a shutdown of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. That's the new Israeli and U.S.-backed food distribution network in Gaza that's been plagued by violence. Palestinian health officials say more than 500 people have been killed near the sites in the past month, either by Israeli troops or strikes.
  The IDF says it only targets Hamas militants. (PBS News Hour)
- On Wednesday Israel and Hamas have stopped short of accepting a 60-day ceasefire proposal put forth by President Trump. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled down on his vow to ‘eliminate Hamas.’ That was after Trump said Israel had agreed to the terms of the deal. For its part, Hamas insisted that any deal must bring a complete end otherwise to the war in Gaza, where scores of Palestinians, most of them civilians, have died in recent days from Israeli strikes. (PBS News Hour)
- On Thursday Health officials in Gaza say Israeli gunfire and airstrikes killed nearly 100 Palestinians across the Strip; 45 of those deaths were Gazans attempting to get food from aid distribution sites. Strikes across the Strip also hit displaced Palestinians who were sheltering and sleeping in tents. (PBS News Hour)
Climate related disasters
- A heat wave is pushing temperatures into the triple digits across large parts of Southern Europe. In Seville, Spain, the temperature hit 45 degrees Celsius or about 113 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat even reached as far north as the U.K., bringing record temperatures to day one of Wimbledon. (PBS News Hour)
- The extreme heat in Europe has also caused wildfires in Spain, two farmers were killed attempting to flee burning cropland from a blaze that's exploded in size. There have been at least two heat-related deaths in France, and more than 300 people were taken into emergency care from heat-related illnesses. (PBS News Hour)
Environmental Protection Agency staff published a declaration of dissent, saying the Trump administration's policies undermine the EPA's mission. It follows a similar move by workers at the National Institutes of Health earlier this month. More than 170 employees signed their names. (PBS News Hour)
A federal judge in Rhode Island blocked the Department of Health and Human Services from moving forward with mass layoffs and ordered the agency to stop its plans to restructure the work force. (PBS News Hour)
On Wednesday Wisconsin's Supreme Court struck down the state's 176-year abortion ban. The court's liberal majority ruled 4-3 that newer laws made the 19th century ban obsolete "by enacting comprehensive legislation about virtually every aspect of abortion, including where, when, and how health care providers may lawfully perform abortions." (PBS News Hour)
Millions of children and working families will soon feel the impact of a funding freeze that will put a halt to key school programs. With very little explanation, the Education Department abruptly blocked the release of nearly $7 billion set to be distributed on July 1. (PBS News Hour)