When a sitting U.S. President uses the word “Shylock” to describe bankers, on national stage, no less, it is not just an outdated literary reference or a “misunderstanding.” It is a loaded, antisemitic slur that echoes centuries of bigotry, and Donald Trump knows exactly what he’s doing.

On July 4, 2025, during a speech in Iowa touting his new tax and spending bill, President Trump said:

“No going to the banks and borrowing from, in some cases, a fine banker, and in some cases, Shylocks and bad people.”

On Independence Day, a president who’s supposed to represent all Americans invoked one of the most toxic Jewish stereotypes in Western literature. And when called out, he shrugged it off with a classic Trump deflection:

“No, I’ve never heard it that way.”

Really?

Let’s Talk About “Shylock” for a Minute

If you are unfamiliar, Shylock is the villainous Jewish moneylender in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice.

He’s long been a symbol of greed and cruelty, a caricature born out of medieval antisemitic paranoia. Over the centuries, “Shylock” has been used as a slur against Jews, particularly in financial contexts, to perpetuate the lie that Jewish people are inherently greedy or exploitative.

So when Trump uses that term to refer to “bad bankers,” he’s not just quoting Shakespeare, he’s resurrecting a trope that’s been used to justify everything from pogroms to genocide.

Denial Doesn’t Erase the Harm

Trump’s defense is ignorance.

“I’ve never heard it that way… You view it differently than I.”

This is the same man who’s repeatedly flirted with white nationalist talking points, who told Jewish donors “you’re not going to support me because I don’t want your money,” and who once said there were “very fine people on both sides” of a neo-Nazi rally. This is not new.

This is a pattern, not a coincidence. It is one more entry in a long list of moments where Trump says something offensive, pretends not to know, then watches the media explode while his base cheers him on for “speaking his mind.”

It is a page right out of the populist playbook: stoke outrage, then deny responsibility.

Some will say, “It’s just a word.” But words matter, especially when they come from the most powerful office in the world.

In 2025, antisemitism isn’t ancient history. Hate crimes against Jewish people are on the rise globally. Conspiracy theories linking Jews to banking, media, and political manipulation are rampant online and in political echo chambers. When Trump drops the word “Shylock” into a speech about financial policy, he’s not just being careless, he is pouring gasoline on an already burning fire.

And for Jewish Americans, especially young Jews navigating a world where antisemitic memes and coded language travel faster than ever, this is a gut punch. It says: “Your pain doesn’t matter. Your history doesn’t matter. You’re a convenient scapegoat again.”

Call It What It Is

Let us not call this a gaffe or a slip-up. It is antisemitism, full stop. And brushing it aside with “I didn’t know” is not a defense. It is cowardice.

The Anti-Defamation League got it right when they said:

“The term ‘Shylock’ evokes a centuries-old antisemitic trope about Jews and greed that is extremely offensive and dangerous.”

And Representative Dan Goldman was even more direct:

“This is blatant and vile antisemitism, and Trump knows exactly what he’s doing.”

He’s right. And so should we be.