Democrats use new tactic to highlight Trump's gutting of Medicaid: billboards in the rural US

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Guardian

Sun 27 Jul 2025 08.00 EDT
Last modified on Sun 27 Jul 2025 08.01 EDT


The road to four struggling rural hospitals now hosts a political message: “If this hospital closes, blame Trump.” In a series of black-and-yellow billboards erected near the facilities, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) seeks to tell voters in deep red states “who is responsible for gutting rural healthcare”.

“UNDER TRUMP’S WATCH, STILWELL GENERAL HOSPITAL IS CLOSING ITS DOORS,” one sign screams. The billboards are outside hospitals in Silex, Missouri; Columbus, Indiana; Stilwell, Oklahoma; and Missoula, Montana.

The fate of rural hospitals has become a politically contentious issue for Republicans, as historic cuts pushed through by the GOP are expected to come into effect over the next decade. Trump’s enormous One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) cut more than $1tn from Medicaid, the public health insurance program for low-income and disabled Americans, insuring more than 71 million adults.

“Where the real impact is going to be is on the people who just won’t get care,” said Dave Kendall, senior fellow for health and fiscal policy at Third Way, a center-left advocacy organization. “That’s what used to happen before we had rural hospitals – they just don’t get the care because they can’t afford it, and they can’t get to the hospital.”

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/27/medicaid-cuts-billboards-democrats

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It's not really "new". Dems have been using billboards for a number of years now - and particularly all kinds (fixed and roving) during the 2024 election. MeidasTouch showed us the power of billboards back in 2020 (before they went into podcasting).

[Cha]

1. So Much Thanks to Our Dems!

TY BRDS!

[wildflowergardener]

2. Billboard

Saw a big billboard, Democracy not Dictatorship this weekend driving to rural missouri for the weekend

[crimycarny]

3. A Trumpian NextDoor post was all about Newsom removing people off Medi-Cal

I live in a very Trump friendly neighborhood in California. Just today some moron posted about California passing new limits on Medi-Cal coverage The poster was blaming Newsom thinking this was a California only issue and not due to BBB Medicaid cuts. They had no clue Medi-Cal is Medicaid. When others tried to explain this is due to Medicaid cuts passed by the GOP as part of Trump’s BBB, same poster pivoted to Trump’s BBB saving money due to no more “illegals” receiving “free healthcare”

It’s useless arguing with Trump’s base. All the GOP needs to do is create a fake “boogeyman” (for Medicaid it’s “illegal immigrants” and alleged masses of “lazy” US citizens who don’t want to work) to direct their base to blame. So discouraging.

[Martin Eden]

4. "UNDER TRUMP'S WATCH"

Sorry, NO. All kinds of things happen during a president's term (under his watch) over which he has little or no control. Such is not the case here. Medical services are being deliberately cut in legislation that Trump heavily promoted and pushed through Congress.

The first part of the sign should read:

BECAUSE OF TRUMP’S "BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL"

[orangecrush]

5. Many more needed

[mcar]

6. It's a good strategy

Local news in many rural areas is all RW so it's harder for Dems' messages to get through. Can't miss a billboard, though.