‘I’ve never heard that’: Trump denies knowingly using anti-Semitic term

United States President Donald Trump has professed ignorance astir a word helium utilized that is wide considered anti-Semitic, explaining that helium did not cognize it had that meaning.

In the aboriginal greeting hours of Friday, the Republican person addressed the contention astir the word “Shylock”, which helium utilized to picture unscrupulous bankers hours earlier.

The term, however, originates from the 16th-century play The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, which includes a depiction of a Jewish moneylender that immoderate see to beryllium profoundly anti-Semitic. The character’s name, Shylock, has been adopted arsenic a pejorative for indebtedness sharks, peculiarly those of Jewish faith.

“No, I’ve ne'er heard it that way. To beryllium Shylock is idiosyncratic that, say, a wealth lender astatine precocious rates,” Trump told reporters connected Air Force One, the statesmanlike plane. “I’ve ne'er heard it that way. You presumption it otherwise than me. I’ve ne'er heard that.”

Trump utilized the word portion visiting Iowa connected Thursday for the kickoff of his “America250” solemnisation series, a drawstring of events that volition culminate successful the 250th day of the US successful 2026.

While addressing a assemblage astatine the Iowa State Fairgrounds, Trump played up his occurrence earlier successful the time with the transition of his signature fund mega-bill, which helium refers to arsenic the “One Big Beautiful Bill”.

The House of Representatives had passed a revised mentation of the bill successful a final, party-line ballot of 218 to 214, implicit objections that it would rise the nationalist shortage and slash societal safety-net programmes similar Medicaid.

Trump, however, had played up the information that the mega-bill would let his 2017 taxation cuts to continue, portion besides raising exemptions nether the property taxation — the taxation connected spot transferred upon the decease of a loved one.

“Think of that: nary decease tax, nary property tax, nary going to the banks and borrowing from, successful immoderate cases, a good banker and, successful immoderate cases, Shylocks and atrocious people,” Trump told the Iowa crowd.

The Anti-Defamation League, a radical established to combat anti-Semitism, denounced Trump’s usage of the word connected Friday, pointing to its agelong past arsenic a slur.

“The word ‘Shylock’ evokes a centuries-old antisemitic trope astir Jews and greed that is highly violative and dangerous. President Trump’s usage of the word is precise troubling and irresponsible,” the radical wrote successful a statement.

“It underscores however lies and conspiracies astir Jews stay profoundly entrenched successful our country. Words from our leaders substance and we expect much from the President of the United States.”

Thursday’s code was not the archetypal clip Trump and his associates person faced accusations of anti-Semitism.

On the archetypal time of Trump’s 2nd word arsenic president, then-ally Elon Musk gave a code astatine a rally astatine the Capital One Arena that culminated with him slapping his thorax and past extending his limb outwards with a flattened thenar — a gesture that galore radical interpreted arsenic a Nazi-style salute.

Trump himself has faced scrutiny for hosting a meal astatine his Mar-a-Lago estate with achromatic nationalist Nick Fuentes and the rapper Ye, formerly known arsenic Kanye West, some of whom person been accused of spreading anti-Semitism.

The president was besides criticised for downplaying the 2017 Unite the Right rally successful Charlottesville, Virginia, wherever achromatic supremacist participants chanted, “Jews volition not regenerate us.” Trump described the rally and its counterprotest by saying determination were “very good radical connected some sides”.

Trump, however, has made combatting anti-Semitism a cardinal taxable successful his campaigns against Harvard University and different world institutions wherever pro-Palestinian protests unfolded. Critics person described Trump’s attacks arsenic efforts to dampen escaped code and world freedom.

The Republican leader, however, is not the archetypal president successful caller years to usage the connection “Shylock” — and look a backlash.

His Democratic predecessor Joe Biden, who served from 2021 to aboriginal 2025, erstwhile utilized the word to picture bankers pursuing foreclosures against subject members deployed overseas.

“People would travel to him and speech astir what was happening astatine home, successful presumption of foreclosures, successful presumption of atrocious loans that were being — these Shylocks that took vantage of these women and men portion overseas,” Biden said successful 2022.

In the days that followed, however, Biden apologised: “It was a mediocre prime of words.”

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies