Anti-Defamation League decries Trump's use of ‘centuries-old antisemitic trope' at rally
During a campaign-style rally speech in Iowa on Thursday — in which the president basked in his megabill success — Trump touted what he and Republicans have promoted as benefits of the sweeping legislation.
'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,' Trump said.
The use of the word 'Shylock,' which is viewed as an antisemitic term, prompted immediate outcry from prominent Jewish organizations, including the ADL, which decried Trump's use of the term in a statement posted to X Friday morning.
'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,' the statement read. 'Words from our leaders matter and we expect more from the President of the United States.'
The Jewish Council for Public Affairs, a progressive organization, also condemned Trump's comments on Friday, saying in a statement that the president's use of the word 'is not an accident.'
'Shylock is among the most quintessential antisemitic stereotypes. This is not an accident. It follows years in which President Trump has normalized antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories — and it's deeply dangerous,' the council's statement read.
But Trump has claimed that he did not know the weight the term carried.
"I've never heard it that way,' the president told reporters aboard Air Force One early Friday morning. 'To me, Shylock is somebody that's a moneylender at high rates. I've never heard it that way. You view it differently than me.'
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on ADL's statement.
The term 'Shylock' originated in the Shakespearean play 'The Merchant of Venice,' in which Shylock is a Jewish character representing stereotypes of greed wielded against Jewish people. In the play, Shylock is an unscrupulous moneylender who demands a pound of flesh from a debtor, painting the Jewish character as villainous and money-hungry.
Thursday night's comments aren't the first time Trump has been criticized for playing into antisemitic tropes.
Trump ruffled feathers at an event with Jewish donors in 2015 where he appeared to suggest that the group wanted to pay to prop up a puppet in the White House, telling the crowd, 'I don't want your money. You want to control your own politician."
He has also derided Jewish Americans who vote for Democrats, suggesting at times it would be a 'great disloyalty' to vote for the other party.
The president also came under fire after hosting known white nationalist and antisemitic Holocaust revisionist Nick Fuentes at his Mar-a-Lago residence in 2022.
Trump has been vocal about cracking down on what his administration describes as rampant antisemitism in higher education during his second term, making a point of targeting universities where students have held protests against Israel's war in Gaza.
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