The White House starts from behind with the public. Americans oppose the Trump tax plan by 52 percent to 34 percent, according to a CNN poll taken Oct. 12 through Oct. 15. Only 24 percent believe they would be better off under Trump’s plan, according to the poll.

While Trump has repeatedly promised wealthy Americans wouldn’t benefit from the tax overhaul, Vice President Mike Pence has championed the plan as an “across the board” cut for all income levels. The White House branded the plan a “middle-class miracle” just hours before National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn said on ABC he couldn’t guarantee taxes won’t go up for some middle-class Americans.

Republicans have vacillated on how to treat state and local taxes and whether to add a higher tax bracket for top earners. Administration officials have made several conflicting statements about the effect on the deficit, ranging from predictions of debt-reducing growth to revenue neutrality to active advocacy for more debt.

“It’s a gong show,” said David Stockman, who served as budget director when President Ronald Reagan passed tax cuts in the 1980s. Stockman blamed “naïve cowboys” in the administration with scant Washington experience for the lack of message discipline.

Cut For Wealthy

Any shifts in messaging reflect the evolving nature of the legislative process, said a senior administration official, who requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

The White House has especially struggled to combat claims that the tax proposal is geared toward the wealthy. Despite being one of the most predictable lines of attack, the Trump administration has offered shifting defenses, with officials often contradicting themselves.

Trump unveiled the framework during a Sept. 27 speech in Indianapolis, with bold claims that the benefits of the plan would flow to the middle class, “not the wealthy and well-connected.” He used himself as an example to drive home the point.

“I’m doing the right thing, and it’s not good for me, believe me,” he said.

The claim was rejected by independent analysts and economists, who have said that part of the plan -- which would also slash the top tax rate on certain business income to 25 percent to 39.6 percent -- does stand to benefit owners of lucrative partnerships and limited liability companies, including Trump himself. Administration officials have since tried to push back.