Jeffries provides great theater, but could not stop Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill

Democrats’ misinformation, fearmongering, performance politics, and stunts failed to stop President Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill (BBB). He got his bill through Congress – and by his arbitrary deadline.

The only thing Democrats had to offer was performance politics and meaningless delaying tactics. Their weeks and weeks of over-the-top, draconian attacks on the legislation failed miserably – just as their hyperbolic demonization of President Trump for years failed to prevent his impressive comeback victory in November 2024.

When the BBB came up earlier for a procedural vote, all House Minority Leader Jeffries could do was delay the process by forcing the public reading of the 940-page document. Ironically, GOP squabbling delayed the procedural vote more than Democrats could ever hope to.

Finally, when it came time to vote on the BBB itself, Jeffries resorted to yet another meaningless and ineffective stunt. He took to the floor and orated for more than eight hours – setting a House record for the longest floor speech. I assume he didn’t want to be outdone by New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, who recently set the record for the longest filibuster. In both cases, their performances received almost no live media coverage – other than at the end, when they broke their respective records. In Booker’s case, curiosity about how he managed the urination issue was a hot topic for speculation.

On the eve of the final vote, House Minority Leader Jeffries delivered a filibuster-style speech lasting more than eight hours. He restated the same shopworn, draconian talking points. It was so pointless that even MSNBC didn’t cover it live. It was performance politics that had no real impact on anything.

As he wrapped up his soliloquy, Jeffries made an interesting cultural shift. He took up the voice, style, and demeanor of a Black preacher. (Having spent a lot of Sundays in inner-city Black churches, I think I can say that with some authority. But I digress.) To complete the optics, Jeffries surrounded himself with five Black female legislators who filled out the role of parishioners – providing the iconic Black church verbal intercessions. I say that with admiration, since I love the energy and communion of Black gospel services.

Some folks on MSNBC suggested that the long speech was a clever ploy, since it put the vote on the BBB in the morning sunlight – rather than the dead of night. That theory, however, assumes that the vote was some sort of skullduggery. Perhaps that’s how those on the left saw it, but I’m inclined to believe that Speaker Johnson and his GOP members were thrilled to have the vote at a more popular viewing hour. In fact, the Speaker gave a very positive and enthusiastic speech touting the benefits of the BBB – along with a few Reagan-esque barbs at his Democrat colleagues. The three major cable networks all gave him 20 minutes of live coverage—something Jeffries’ record-breaking “magic moment” never got.

Jeffries’ speech was great theater—very entertaining. But in terms of political strategy—or accomplishing anything meaningful—the speech was not very effective. The BIG issue of the moment was Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill. That was a huge achievement with major ramifications, making Trump arguably the 21^st Century’s most consequential president — with President Obama a close second.

Both Jeffries and Trump have carved their names into the journal of American political history. One accomplishment will soon fade and be forgotten. The other will be the topical subject of political history for generations. Which is which? Take a guess.

So, there ’tis.

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