(JTA) — After facing criticism, President Donald Trump said he was unaware that the term “Shylock” was widely considered antisemitic when he used it to describe unscrupulous bankers during a rally Thursday in Iowa.
Trump was touting the benefits of the Republican omnibus legislation that had just passed. “No death tax. No estate tax,” he said. “No going to the banks and borrowing from, in some cases, a fine banker — and in some cases, Shylocks and bad people.”
Shylock is the name of the Jewish money lender in William Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice,” a character that has come to be seen as an archetype of the stereotype that Jews are greedy and money-grubbing. Contemporary stagings of the play routinely grapple with its antisemitic tropes.
Trump’s choice of words quickly drew criticism.
“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 Anti-Defamation League posted on X on Friday morning. “It underscores how lies and conspiracies about Jews remain deeply entrenched in our country. Words from our leaders matter and we expect more from the President of the United States.”
Confronted with the criticism, Trump — who has previously been accused of wielding antisemitic dog whistles and repeating antisemitic tropes — said he had never understood the term as antisemitic.
“I’ve never heard it that way,” he told reporters on Friday. “The meaning of Shylock is somebody that’s a moneylender at high rates. You view it differently. I’ve never heard that.”
Some of Trump’s critics said they believed Trump did understand the meaning of the term. “This is blatant and vile antisemitism, and Trump knows exactly what he’s doing,” Rep. Dan Goldman of New York, a Democrat, posted on X.
Both Goldman and Jerry Nadler, another Jewish New York Democratic congressman, said Trump’s comment proved that Republicans are concerned about antisemitism only when it serves their political agenda. The Trump administration has cited antisemitism concerns in its effort to deport pro-Palestinian student protesters and penalize U.S. colleges.
“Today’s speech shows that antisemitism in the Trump Administration is the rule not the exception, and emanates from the very top,” Nadler posted on X, noting that Trump had used “one of the most recognizable antisemitic slurs in the English language.”
Added Nadler, “If Donald Trump were serious about fighting antisemitism, he could start with himself.”
Some Jewish conservatives, meanwhile, said they were willing to overlook the president’s use of the term. “Trump bombed Iran. He can say Shylock 100 times a day forever as far as I’m concerned,” John Podhoretz, the editor of Commentary, posted on X.
Joe Biden, then vice president, decried “Shylocks” in 2014 to describe unscrupulous lenders who he said preyed on U.S. military personnel. After the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League criticized his comments, Biden said the criticism was right and that it was “a poor choice of words.” A social media account operated on Trump’s behalf called attention to the episode in 2020.