Shylock Reference Embarrasses Anti-Antisemitic President
By Reuters | 04 Jul, 2025

Ignorance about the antisemitic connotation of the unscrupulous Jewish banker in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice was behind Trump use of the term.

In Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice the moneylender Shylock demanded a pound of Antonio's flesh when he couldn't replay a loan.

U.S. President Donald Trump drew criticism for using the antisemitic term "Shylock" to describe some bankers during remarks on his signature tax-cut and spending legislation that just passed Congress.

"Think of that: 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,” he said during remarks in Iowa late on Thursday.

Shylock is an unscrupulous Jewish money lender in Shakespeare's 16th century play "The Merchant of Venice" and the term, shorthand for loan shark, has long been considered offensive. 

"The term 'Shylock' evokes a centuries-old antisemitic trope about Jews and greed that is extremely offensive and dangerous," the Anti-Defamation League said in a statement. "President Trump's use of the term is very troubling and irresponsible." 

U.S. Representative Dan Goldman of New York, a Jewish Democrat, said, "This is blatant and vile antisemitism, and Trump knows exactly what he’s doing."

Asked about his use of the term on his return to Washington, Trump said he did not know its connotations.

"No, I've never heard it that way. To be Shylock is somebody that, say, a money lender at high rates," he told reporters on Air Force One. "I've never heard it that way. You view it differently than me. I've never heard that." 

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Daniel Wallis)