Donald Trump has defended using an antisemitic slur during a speech, claiming he had “never heard” it used as an attack on Jewish people before.
Trump was asked about his use of the term “Shylocks”–a reference to the Jewish moneylender in William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, who famously demands a “pound of flesh” from another character who cannot repay a loan—after he spoke Thursday at a rally celebrating the 250th anniversary of America’s independence in Des Moines, Iowa.
“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 told the crowd while praising his “Big Beautiful” spending bill, which the House passed Thursday.
Speaking to reporters after disembarking from Air Force One in Maryland, Trump claimed his use of the word differs from the meaning the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) describes as a “centuries-old antisemitic trope” that plays on negative stereotypes about Jewish people and money. The antisemitism watchdog called the trope “extremely offensive and dangerous.”
“The meaning of Shylock is somebody that’s a money lender at high rates,” Trump said, according to The Washington Post. “You view it differently. I’ve never heard that.”
Trump received widespread condemnation for his remarks, with the ADL calling the president’s casual use of the term “troubling and irresponsible.”
“It underscores how lies and conspiracies about Jews remain deeply entrenched in our country,” an ADL spokesperson told Newsweek. “Words from our leaders matter, and we expect more from the president of the United States.”
Rep. Daniel Goldman of New York, who is Jewish, posted on X that the president’s comments were “blatant and vile antisemitism, and Trump knows exactly what he’s doing.”
This is not the first time Trump has been accused of pushing anti-Jewish tropes. In September 2024, during a “Fighting Anti-Semitism in America” event in Washington, D.C., Trump suggested Jewish people “would have a lot to do” with him potentially losing the last election, a comment accused of scapegoating Jews.
During his first term, Trump also said Jews who vote for Democrats are guilty of “great disloyalty”—a phrase reminiscent of the antisemitic trope that Jewish people are more loyal to Israel than to their own country.
In 2014, then-Vice President Joe Biden also faced criticism for using the word “Shylocks” to describe exploitative moneylenders. Biden later apologized, calling it a “poor choice of words.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast.
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