Trump is set to sign his flagship tax and spending bill in a pomp-laden Independence Day ceremony 

US President Donald Trump celebrated the passage of his signature tax and spend legislation by declaring “there could be no better birthday present for America” on the eve of the 4 July holiday.

Trump on Thursday took a victory lap during an event in Des Moines, Iowa, that was officially billed as the start of a year-long celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, in 2026.

He is set to sign his flagship tax and spending bill in a pomp-laden Independence Day ceremony featuring fireworks and a flypast by the type of stealth bomber that bombed Iran.

Trump said the signing ceremony at the White House would include the pilots who carried out the bombing on Iran were among those who had been invited.

"We have the hottest country anywhere in the world today," the jubilant president told supporters at the Iowa rally where he boasted of a "phenomenal" victory in passing the bill. "The age of America is upon us. This is a golden age."

The celebrations will include an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bout for 25,000 spectators in the grounds of the White House.

“There could be no better birthday present for America than the phenomenal victory we achieved just hours ago, when Congress passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” to make America great again,” Trump said. The president went on to boast, “one-hundred-and-sixty-five days into the Trump administration, America is on a winning streak like, frankly, nobody has ever seen before in the history of the presidency.”

Prez kicks up Shylock storm

President Trump drew criticism for using the antisemitic term "Shylock" to describe some bankers during remarks on his signature tax-cut and spending bill that just passed Congress.

"Think of that: No death tax. No estate tax. No going to the banks and borrowing from, in some cases, a fine banker - and in some cases, Shylocks and bad people,” he said at a rally in Iowa. Shylock is an unscrupulous Jewish money lender in Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" and the term, shorthand for loan shark, has long been considered offensive.

Trump later said he had "never heard that" the term was considered an offensive stereotype about Jews.