Topline
President Donald Trump said Friday he didn’t know the term “Shylock” was antisemitic, after he was slammed by groups including the Anti-Defamation League for using the word during a campaign rally Thursday night.
President Donald Trump arrives at a rally at the Iowa State Fairgrounds on July 3 in Des Moines, ... More
Trump was asked Friday about his use of the term “Shylock” during his campaign rally in Iowa, when the president said about his domestic policy bill, “Think of that: no death tax, no estate tax, no going to the banks and borrowings from in some cases a fine banker. And in some cases, Shylocks and bad people.”
The term “Shylock” has been widely recognized as antisemitic, with the Anti-Defamation League saying Friday it “evokes a centuries-old antisemitic trope about Jews and greed that is extremely offensive and dangerous.”
Trump, asked about his use of the term, claimed to reporters Friday he was not aware of its antisemitic connotations.
“I’ve never heard it that way. To me, Shylock is somebody that’s a money lender at high rates,” Trump told reporters after getting off Air Force One, claiming the reporters “view [the term] differently than me.”
The president’s comments come after he had come under criticism for his use of the term, with the Anti-Defamation League saying it was “very troubling and irresponsible” and Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, saying Trump using “Shylock” was “deeply dangerous” and “not an accident,” claiming the president has previously “normalized antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories.”
The Anti-Defamation League said Trump’s use of “Shylock” “underscores how lies and conspiracies about Jews remain deeply entrenched in our country,” according to a statement Friday morning on X. “Words from our leaders matter and we expect more from the President of the United States.”
The term “Shylock” is originally from William Shakespeare’s play “The Merchant of Venice,” which features a character named Shylock, a Jewish money lender. Shylock gives the main character Antonio a loan, demanding a “pound of flesh” if he cannot repay his debt, and ultimately seeks that punishment when Antonio does not pay. The play has long been a source of debate over whether it’s antisemitic, and Smithsonian Magazine notes it was frequently performed in Nazi Germany. The character of Shylock has long been considered to reflect stereotypes about Jewish people being “greedy” and the term has been recognized as antisemitic as a result, with Florida passing legislation in 2009 that removed “Shylock” and “shylocking” from state law.
Former President Joe Biden also sparked controversy for using “Shylock” in 2014, when speaking about members of the military his son knew in Iraq who needed legal help back home. “People would come to him and talk about what was happening to them at home in terms of foreclosures, in terms of bad loans that were being — I mean, these Shylocks who took advantage of these women and men while overseas,” Biden said in a speech. The then-vice president later apologized for his use of the term after it similarly garnered criticism, with the Anti-Defamation League saying Biden “should have been more careful.”
Trump’s use of the term “Shylock” comes as the president and his allies have faced accusations of antisemitism in the past. Trump has had various connections to a number of people who identify as white supremacists, and the president came under fire after his former chief of staff, John Kelly, wrote in his memoir that Trump once told him Adolf Hitler “did a lot of good things.” Former ally Elon Musk was also embroiled in controversy after raising his hand in a way that mimicked a Nazi salute at Trump’s inauguration. At the same time, the Trump administration has taken harsh action against U.S. universities and student activists over perceived antisemitism, as the Trump administration has maintained the U.S.’ support for Israel in its war against Hamas. The White House has taken such steps as attempting to revoke visas for pro-Palestinian activists and levying punishments on schools like Harvard and Columbia Universities for perceived failures to combat antisemitism.
Denouncing Antisemitism, Trump Also Fans Its Flames (New York Times)