U.S. President Donald Trump denied knowing that references to Shylock, an avaricious, Jewish money lender in Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice,” often reflect antisemitic views about Jews and money after the president drew criticism for using the term in a speech on Thursday.
At a “salute to America” rally after his “One, Big Beautiful Bill” passed both chambers in Congress, Trump said in Des Moines, Iowa, “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 Anti-Defamation League stated on Friday, on the July 4 holiday, that “the term ‘Shylock’ evokes a centuries-old antisemitic trope about Jews and greed that is extremely offensive and dangerous.”
“President Trump’s use of the term is very troubling and irresponsible. It underscores how lies and conspiracies about Jews remain deeply entrenched in our country,” the ADL stated. “Words from our leaders matter and we expect more from the president of the United States.”
In 2014, the ADL said that Joe Biden, then the U.S. vice president, turned “a rhetorical gaffe into a teachable moment” when he apologized for “describing those who take financial advantage of American servicemen and women as ‘Shylocks.’”
Biden said at the time that his was “a poor choice of words,” and Abraham Foxman, then the ADL head, stated that “clearly there was no ill-intent here, but Joe and I agreed that perhaps he needs to bone up on his Shakespeare.”
In 2020, a Trump campaign social media account, which described itself as the “official war room account of President Donald J. Trump’s political operation,” stated that “six years ago today, Joe Biden used the term ‘Shylocks’ to describe banks who take advantage of homeowners.”
“He was criticized by Jewish groups for using the offensive term,” the Trump campaign account said.
Rep. Daniel Goldman (D-N.Y.), who has frequently called the president a Jew-hater and has said that Trump wants to be the next Hitler, stated that the comment was “blatant and vile antisemitism,” accusing the president of knowing “exactly what he’s doing.”
Trump was asked about his statement during a press gaggle on Air Force One on July 4.
“Never heard it that way to me. Shylock is somebody that’s saying that a money-lender at high rates,” the president said. “I’ve never heard it that way. You view it differently than me. I’ve never heard that.”
John Podhoretz, the editor of Commentary magazine, shrugged the statement off. “Trump bombed Iran. He can say Shylock 100 times a day forever as far as I’m concerned,” he stated.
