United States President Donald Trump said he was unaware that the word “shylock” is considered antisemitic when he used it in a recent speech. Speaking to reporters early Friday after returning from a trip to Iowa, Trump said: “I’ve never heard it that way. I’ve never heard that,” when asked about the word’s meaning. “To me, a shylock is somebody that’s a money lender at high rates. You view it differently than me,” he added. Why the word 'shylock' is controversial? The word “shylock” comes from Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice, where it refers to a Jewish moneylender who demands a pound of flesh as payment. Over time, the term has come to be seen as a harmful stereotype. The Anti-Defamation League, which works to fight antisemitism, criticised Trump’s use of the word. In a statement reported by the Associated Press (AP), the group said the term “evokes a centuries-old antisemitic trope about Jews and greed that is extremely offensive and dangerous.” It added, “President Trump’s use of the term is very troubling and irresponsible.” This is not the first time a US politician has faced criticism for using the term. In 2014, Joe Biden, who was vice-president at the time, apologised and called it a “poor choice” after using the word in a speech. While Trump’s administration has taken steps it says are aimed at fighting antisemitism, including adding new checks for antisemitic activity when granting immigration benefits, the president has also been criticised for comments some have called harmful. In 2015, Trump told a group of Jewish Republicans, “you want to control your politicians,” suggesting they used money to gain influence. He also drew criticism last year for dining with a Holocaust denier at his Florida club and for saying Jewish Americans who vote for Democrats are disloyal, comments that many said repeated an old stereotype about Jews having divided loyalties. On Thursday night, during his speech in Iowa, Trump used the word while talking about estate taxes and borrowing from banks. He said: “No death tax, no estate tax, no going to the banks and borrowing some from, in some cases, a fine banker and in some cases shylocks and bad people.” The Anti-Defamation League said the president’s use of the word shows that “lies and conspiracies about Jews remain deeply entrenched in our country.” It added: “Words from our leaders matter and we expect more from the President of the United States.”
