Dictionary.com weighed in on the hashtag #LetThemEatCake as the phrase trended on Twitter after Congress reached an agreement on a coronavirus relief bill after months of stalled negotiations.
Dictionary.com’s Twitter account tweeted out the definition and origin of the phrase “Let them eat cake” as Twitter users criticized congressional leaders for the package, which offered less in direct payments than March’s CARES Act.
“‘Let them eat cake,’ while often attributed to Marie Antoinette, first appeared in Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s ‘The Confessions’ in 1782,” Dictionary.com’s tweet reads.
“#LetThemEatCake is another way of saying those in power are insensitive to the realities of the unfortunate,” the post continues.
Several critics of the long-awaited COVID-19 relief package took to Twitter to slam lawmakers for the agreement and the reduced amount in direct payments.
Under the agreement, set to be passed by Congress on Monday, those who make up to $75,000 annually are eligible to receive $600 in direct payments. Couples who together make less than $150,000 per year are also eligible, and families with children can obtain an additional $600 per child.
The package also includes funding for businesses, schools, health care providers and renters.
One of the critics, journalist David Leavitt, tweeted out a photo of a tiny cake with the capiton, “The $600 stimulus check.”
Houston radio host Karah Leigh posted a photo of Marie Antoinette with the text “Let them have $600.”
Activist Peter Daou condemned Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for calling the direct payments a “significant” amount.
Pelosi when addressing the House on Monday commented on the direct payments, saying, “I would like them to be bigger, but they are significant.”