President Donald Trump used the anti-Semitic slur to describe the exploitative bankers in his speech on Thursday that promoted the passage of his massive domestic policy bill in Congress.
Trump spoke in what was billed as an event by a nonpartisan group in Des Moines, Iowa, to launch a celebration for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. But Trump’s campaign-style speech quickly gained partisan tone, with the president expressing his “hate” to Democrats who voted against his “big and beautiful bill.”
Sticking through the bill’s provisions, Trump explained what was intended to protect family farmers by allowing family farmers to cut property taxes when they transfer ownership to their children.
“We don’t go to the banks or borrow from bankers or, in some cases, Shylock or bad people,” Trump said. “They destroyed a lot of their families, but we opposed it.”
“Shylock” is a Jewish character from “The Merchant of Venice.” In the Shakespeare account of the play, the Anti-Abolition League points out that characters who serve as opponents are frequently portrayed as “contemptious and cruel” money lenders, and frequently portray Jewish stereotypes as money hunger and greed.
Amy Spitanic, CEO of the Jewish Public Affairs Council, said in a post on X on Thursday night that the term is “one of the most typical anti-Semitist stereotypes.”
“This is no coincidence. It follows the year when Trump normalized anti-Semitic ratios and conspiracy theories. And it’s extremely dangerous,” she added.
When asked by a reporter after a speech about the anti-Semitic implications of the term “shylock,” Trump said, “I’ve never heard it that way.”
“To me, Shylock is a money lender and a high fee person,” he added.
Former President Joe Biden faced backlash in 2014 for using the same term while serving as vice president. He later apologized for his choice of “poor” words.
The anti-ethnic federation, which criticized Biden’s remarks at the time, said Trump’s use of terminology was “very troublesome and irresponsible,” adding that “emphasising that lies and conspiracies about Jews remain deeply entrenched in our country.”
“The term “Shylock” evokes the plunder of centuries-old anti-Semitism on highly aggressive and dangerous Jews and greed,” the ADL said in a statement from X.
Trump’s remarks came as he gave an hour-long speech praised the passage of the “big and beautiful bill” in front of a cheerful crowd of hundreds of supporters, before signs that read “make farming great again.”
Trump previously faced anti-Semitism accusations, including 2024, after his former chief of staff, John Kelly, praised Hitler for “doing some good things.”
During his first term in office, the Jewish group criticized Trump after he chanted at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017 that “Jews will not replace us” on the same level as “Jews will not replace us.”
During his second term, Trump’s administration established a federal task force that plans to visit 10 university campuses to “eliminate anti-Semitist harassment.”
The State Department also moved to cancel visas for foreign students involved in Palestinian protests, including Mahmoud Khalil, who was detained despite holding a green card, due to a major protest at Columbia University.
The Department of Homeland Security also implemented a new review policy in April, allowing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to consider “anti-Semitic activities on social media” by foreigners as a basis for rejecting requests for immigration benefits, including those applying for legal permanent resident status.
