Was Obama’s ‘Jew Tax’ Gaffe a Freudian Slip?
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
What was that, Mr. President? You meant to say “janitor,” but out came “Jew.” Those words starting with the letter “J” can really trip you up.
In a speech President Obama gave this past Saturday evening at the Congressional Black Caucus annual awards dinner in Washington, it seemed as though he was saying that there is a special tax rate for Jews. In making the point that the very wealthy should pay more taxes, he said, “If asking a billionaire to pay the same tax rate as a Jew — as a janitor — makes me a warrior for the working class, I wear that as a badge of honor.”
It could have been a simple stumbling over words, but there is always the chance that it was a full-blown Freudian slip. The President may have had Jews and money on the brain, as he was scheduled to attend a critical fundraising dinner the next evening at the home of Jewish Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg in Atherton, Calif. Seventy guests reportedly paid up to $35,800 per couple to take part in the dinner, which took place under a tent in Sandberg’s backyard.
Among the guests was Lady Gaga, wearing a long, lacy black dress and bouffant hairdo. Gaga is not Jewish, but it is a fair to assume that among the other guests were several Jewish Silicon Valley tycoons — those really rich people who would have to pay the higher tax rate the President was talking about.
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