President Donald Trump got a little too excited in his victory lap over the passage of his Big, Beautiful megabill.
During a Thursday speech in Iowa that kicked off yearlong festivities for America’s 250th birthday, Trump declared that he fulfilled his campaign promise of eliminating taxes on Social Security.
“Just as I promised, we’re making the Trump tax cuts permanent and delivering no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on Social Security for our great seniors,” he said in a rally at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.
Trump and the White House have repeatedly claimed that the so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill,” which the House sent to the president’s desk after a tight vote, will eliminate taxes on Social Security. But what the measure actually does is provide a temporary tax deduction for certain groups.
The White House, citing an analysis from the Council of Economic Advisers, said “88 percent of all seniors who receive Social Security—will pay NO TAX on their Social Security benefits.”
“The One Big Beautiful Bill delivers historic tax relief to seniors, with a new tax deduction that, combined with other deductions, ensures the average Social Security beneficiary will pay zero taxes on Social Security,” it said in a June statement.
Under the megabill, seniors get an additional deduction of $6,000 off their taxes ($12,000 for couples). But that deduction begins phasing out for those who earn more than $75,000 ($150,000 for couples) and disappears entirely for those earning more than $175,000 ($250,000 for couples). The tax break also expires at the end of Trump’s term in 2028.
Many seniors with low income would not benefit from the additional deduction, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center, which also raised concerns about “intergenerational fairness, since it would provide a tax benefit to those over the age of 65 that is not available to younger taxpayers with identical incomes.”
A similar analysis by the Tax Foundation found that the additional deduction would mostly benefit those with higher incomes.
“While the deduction does provide some relief for seniors, it’s far from completely repealing the tax on their benefits,” Garrett Watson, director of policy analysis at the Tax Foundation, told the Associated Press.
Trump also touted several other tax breaks during his speech, but one in particular caused a storm on social media over his eyebrow-raising word choice.
“No death tax, no estate tax, no going through the banks and borrowing from—in some cases, a fine banker—and in some cases, shylocks and bad people,” he said, using an antisemitic slur that originated from a Shakespeare play featuring a greedy Jewish money lender. Former President Joe Biden apologized for using the term “shylock” in 2014.
TRUMP: No estate tax, no going through the banks and borrowing from—in some cases a fine banker— and in some cases a shylocks and bad people. pic.twitter.com/VHQt3k1U6u
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 4, 2025
But Trump appeared oblivious to the slur as he continued to take aim at his political enemies.
“Not one Democrat voted for us,” he said of the bill. “They wouldn’t vote only because they hate Trump, but I hate them too. You know that? I really do—I hate them. I cannot stand them, because I really believe they hate our country.”
The president also continued the victory lap that he began earlier in the day on Truth Social.
“America is on a winning streak like, frankly, nobody’s ever seen before in the history of the presidency,” he said. “They said, ‘You know, sir, you’re going to go down as one of the greatest presidents ever.’ I said, ‘Really? Better than Washington? Better than Honest Abe Lincoln?’ They said, ‘Yes, sir.’”
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