In a February 2025 televised interview with CBS Evening News, CCPP Director Erik C. Nisbet, Owen L. Coon Professor of Policy Analysis and Communication at Northwestern University, analyzed a familiar Republican communication strategy: framing opposition to federal programs around claims of fraud, waste, and abuse. At the time, Nisbet explained how the heavy repetition of unsupported claims can transform falsehoods into perceived truths, a phenomenon known as the illusory truth effect, where familiarity breeds belief even in the absence of evidence.
That same strategy has resurfaced this fall as Republican leaders renew their opposition to extending Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, citing “phantom” enrollees and systemic waste, assertions not supported by available data. The rhetoric mirrors the DOGE budget debate and the “Big Beautiful Bill” from earlier in 2025, both of which justified deep cuts to federal programs and Medicaid by invoking similar narratives of inefficiency and abuse.
The question now is whether the same messaging playbook will resonate again, especially as many voters are experiencing sharp increases in their ACA premiums and may perceive the claims about “fraud, waste, and abuse” differently than they did earlier in the year.
See Nisbet’s full CBS Evening News interview from February 25, 2025 below.