President Donald Trump on Wednesday called Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer a “Palestinian” as he defended the GOP’s government spending bill and his policies on corporate taxes and rising grocery prices.
“Schumer is a Palestinian, as far as I’m concerned,” Trump said in response to a question about the U.S. corporate tax rate during an Oval office meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin. “He’s become a Palestinian. He used to be Jewish. He’s not Jewish anymore.”
Schumer is Jewish and not of Palestinian heritage.
The president routinely likened Schumer to “a Palestinian” during the campaign, at one point calling Schumer a “proud member of Hamas.” Trump also routinely criticized Jews that planned to support Democrats in the November election, calling them “fools” who need “their head examined.”
The comment came as Republicans are trying to get a government spending bill enacted before funding runs out on Friday evening. Republicans would need at least eight Democratic votes in the Senate, assuming the GOP remains aligned in support.
But it is not the only crisis heading in Trump’s direction.
Wednesday morning, the European Union announced a two-stage sweeping retaliation of tariffs covering €26 billion in U.S. exports in response to Trump’s 25 percent global steel and aluminum tariffs.
When asked if the United States would respond to the EU, Trump said,
“Of course I will respond.”
Trump also touted progress on bringing egg prices down, after Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins launched her bird flu response strategy in late February. The department is working to import more eggs from countries like Turkey to get prices down in the short term.
“In a very short period of time we’ve done very well,” Trump said.
Rollins told reporters at the White House Tuesday that egg prices had gone down $1.85, though she warned other parts of Trump’s economic plan could have a “bumpy” rollout for consumers and agricultural producers.
Consumer Price Index data released Wednesday showed that egg prices have hit a record high of $5.90 per dozen, surpassing the previous record of $4.95 per dozen in January. USDA predicted that egg prices could increase more than 40 percent in 2025.