Richard Arnold: US Correspondent on opposition to Trump's 'big beautiful bill' and a terrorist attack in Palm Springs

US President Donald Trump is facing strong opposition from members of his own party, after they blocked the advancement of the President's budget bill.

Nicknamed the 'big beautiful bill' by Trump, the bill seeks to lock into place tax cuts which mostly benefit wealthy American's, while also calling for no taxes on tips.

To pay for the tax cuts the Government would need to cut medical aid, food for the poor and clean energy initiatives. 

US Correspondent Richard Arnold talks to Mike Hosking about the bill and a terrorist attack in Palm Springs. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Stateside. Richard Land, very, good morning, good morning. You might
now this big beautiful bill five short, five Republicans bailed.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
So what happens now?

Speaker 1 (00:09):
Well, and I go. This is Trump facing some pretty
strong headwinds after his return from the Middle East celebrations
on his key legislative plan revolved by this handful of
members of his own party blocked the advancement out of committee,
a cause for locking into place tax cuts which mostly
benefit the wealthy, although it also calls for no texes
on tips, which was a Trump campaign pledge. But to

(00:31):
try and pay for some of the tax cuts and
increases in military and immigration enforcement spending, they would seek
to cut medical aid and food for the poor, and
clean energy initiatives, all to bust the budget even further
by another four or five trillion, Even as the Moody's
Credit Agency rating has just been downgraded, taking the United

(00:55):
States from the top level for the first time, amid
fears oversawing debt. Scott Pressante, Trump Treasury secretary, is dismissing
that part of it.

Speaker 2 (01:03):
They think that Moodies is a lagging indicator.

Speaker 1 (01:05):
I think that's what everyone thinks of credit agency. Yeah,
tell that to the Bank next time, you're going for
a loan. Right, So, even if they push for a
House vote and managed to get that through, there's a
long long way to go in this budget battle. Republican
Josh Hawley, who supported the Trump claim about a stolen election, says,
on cutting.

Speaker 2 (01:22):
Healthcare, it is wrong to cut healthcare for the working poor.
That's what we're talking about here with Medicaid.

Speaker 1 (01:28):
Yeah, so he is clearly thinking about his own electric
and possible future elections. Republican Senator Rouand Paul is among
several Republicans who say that should be cut even more
than the Trump team is outlining, so somewhat more cuts,
somewhat less. On the tariff front, Trump also is slamming
Walmart right now, of course, this country's biggest retailer, for

(01:50):
proposing price hikes on a lot of their products, which
are important because of the Trump tariffs. Trump says Walmart
made billions in profits last year, they should quote eat
the tariffs. Meantime, on foreign policy, Trump will have separate
calls tomorrow with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine. He
will see separately with Zolenski and with Putin. Trump's negotiator,
Steve Witkoff is voicing confidence today Red Trump.

Speaker 2 (02:13):
Is sensibility or that he's got to get on the
phone with President Putin and that is going to clear
up some of the large jam and get us to
the place that we need to get to. And I
think it's going to be a very successful call.

Speaker 1 (02:26):
Well, on the eve of what he suggests could be
a very successful call, Putin ordered another drone attack on Ukraine,
hitting a shuttle bus carrying civilians and killing at least
nine people. Later, so Zelenski says, the Russians could not
have failed to be aware of what kind of bus
they were hacking. And we've got now Palm Springs, we
got the name of the block. Yeah. The FBI has

(02:47):
just given an on scene briefing about this car bomb
attack on a fertility clinic there. They've named the bombers
twenty five year old guy Bartkis who died in the blast.
They are searching his family home right now and it's
about an hour from the scene. They say this was
a terrorist assault and a massive attack. Says the fbis
A Kell Davis.

Speaker 2 (03:04):
This is probably the largest bombing scene that we've had
in southern California.

Speaker 1 (03:08):
So putting it in that perspective, he says, there is
debris covering blocks, and the front part of the in
vitro clinic, as many will have seen, was completely demolished. Fortunately,
no one in the clinic was killed, and says the FBI,
you're able to save all of the embryos at this facility.

Speaker 2 (03:25):
Good guys, one, bad guys, zero.

Speaker 1 (03:27):
Well not entirely. Four people in the streets suffered minor
injuries into blasts. Meantime, the FEDS are going through what
they say was a manifesto left by this bomber. It
out lies what they describe as an anti natalist ideology
of beliefs that no one, no humans should have children.
So bizarre, all.

Speaker 2 (03:43):
Right, all right?

Speaker 1 (03:44):
Might see Wednesday Richard on sight Side for more from
the Mic Asking Breakfast. Listen live to news talks it'd
be from six am weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.