WASHINGTON POST: U.S. Senate hopeful Rep. David Trone (D-Md.) made the comment while discussing tax rates in a budget hearing.
Senate hopeful Rep. David Trone (D) used a racial slur during a congressional budget hearing Thursday and later apologized, saying he misspoke and did not know what the word meant.
Trone dropped a derogatory word for Black people into a brief speech praising President Biden’s tax proposals toward the end of a friendly exchange with the director of the Office of Budget and Management.
After explaining that corporate tax rates did not influence how he invested hundreds of millions in his national liquor company, Trone continued: “So this Republican jigaboo that it’s the tax rate that’s stopping business investment, it’s just completely faulty by people who have never run a business,” he said during a House Budget Committee hearing. “They’ve never been there. They don’t have a clue what they’re talking about.”The slur is among the derogatory terms used to caricature Black people. After being contacted by The Washington Post hours after the remark, Trone apologized in a statement.
“Today while attempting to use the word ‘bugaboo’ in a hearing, I misspoke and mistakenly used a phrase that is offensive. Upon learning the meaning of the word I was deeply disappointed to have accidentally used it, and I apologize,” the statement said.
