Trump and Bacon

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
One day a few years ago, a group of Nebraskans
found themselves playing golf at Mara Lago. This is President
Trump's Florida seaside palace that, for his financial benefit, is
partly open to the public. Not easy to get on there,
as say Milts, but possible. The Secret Service walled off
a portion of the sprawling estate for the Trumps, while

(00:20):
on the other side, the Hoi polloi was allowed to
experience their own little slice of regal gentry after the
round while enjoying a very high priced beverage. Remember Trump
knows you can't put a price on the experience. Suddenly
a few stern looking sealed Team six types entered the room.
Uh oh, could it be the man is here and

(00:42):
wants to hang with the dudes. Sure enough, a few
minutes later, Trump comes plowing in, finds out that this
group is from Nebraska, and immediately does a list the
ones I like and the ones I don't. At the time, Fisher,
bacon Fort, and Berry and Smith got the trademark thumbs
up from Trump, but Ben Sass and fing Ahle minus

(01:06):
the dashes. So it has been in a word, the
relationship between Trump and the Five gops from Nebraska colorful,
and it might get a little more now that Don Bacon,
five term congressman, is bowing out. Since Sas left DC
two years ago, Bacon has been wearing the sash from

(01:26):
sass As, Trump's Cornhusker obstructor. It makes no sense. Bacon
likes Sas, has voted with Trump ninety percent of the time.
Who wouldn't take that agreement ninety percent of the time,
Donald Trump wouldn't. Bacon and the President do have one
thing in common, a mutual irritation of each other. Whenever

(01:47):
something leaks out of DC hinting of a pushback against Trump,
good chance it's Bacon. They sparred in Trump's first term,
and in just the first one hundred days of Trump
Act two, Bacon questioned him on tariffs and Ukraine went
public with Defense Secretary Pete Hegsa's fumbling of classified texts

(02:07):
and opposed to Trump's renaming of the Gulf of Mexico,
which brings us to a very interesting political intersection today.
Bacon is absolutely a key vote if and when the
Senate version of Trump's big, beautiful, massive spending bill is
merged with the House bill that was passed a month ago.

(02:28):
That one made it across the congressional finish line with
one vote to spare, and some of those final Republican
votes were secured with the promise that the Senate would
not materially change anything in the nine hundred page House bill.
That merged version must be approved by the House before
it goes to Trump. As of today, the Senate version

(02:50):
actually drives the debt and deficit higher over the next
ten years. The deficit hawks in the House were assured
the Senate would cut even deeper. Nope, the Senate bill
has tried to pair back the sealing amount taxpayers get
to qualify to deduct state and local taxes. Those blue
state House or Repubs insist on at least forty thousand

(03:10):
per tax filer. Trim that back and you risk losing
House Republicans. Bacon is not hiding. He is warning the
White House that deep cuts to Medicaid will harm centrist
congressman in next year's election and isn't good for the country.
The amount today is nine hundred billion in cuts. Bacon says,
anything more than five hundred billion is just too much.

(03:34):
But if it's nine hundred billion or anything over five
hundred billion. Will Bacon vote know when the merged bill
comes out of the conference, and if he does, will
he be the only GOP flip? Remember, he isn't running
for reelection, and nothing gives you more power in Washington,
d c. Than the guy who isn't on the next ballot.

(03:55):
Trump gets it. He needs Bacon more than Bacon needs
Trump and endorsed Bacon in the twenty twenty four election
and has been relatively mute on all of Bacon's pushbacks
so far. But if he votes no on this bill
and it sinks, don't be surprised if Don Bacon becomes
the first American military general labeled an enemy of the

(04:17):
state by the president since the Civil War.