Trump Draws Criticism for Antisemitic 'Shylock' Remark at Iowa Rally

U.S. President Donald Trump is under fire from Jewish advocacy groups and some lawmakers after describing certain bankers as “Shylocks” during a 3 July rally in Des Moines, Iowa. The event celebrated congressional passage of his sweeping tax-cut and spending package, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. “Shylock” refers to an unscrupulous Jewish moneylender in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice and has long been regarded as an antisemitic slur. The Anti-Defamation League said the president’s language "evokes a centuries-old antisemitic trope about Jews and greed that is extremely offensive and dangerous." Representative Dan Goldman, a New York Democrat who is Jewish, called the comment "blatant and vile antisemitism." Questioned aboard Air Force One as he returned to Washington on 4 July, Trump said he was unaware the term is viewed as offensive, adding, "To me, Shylock is somebody that’s a money lender at high rates." The controversy echoes a 2014 incident in which then-Vice President Joe Biden used the same term and later apologized. Trump, who has made combating antisemitism on college campuses a signature issue of his current term, offered no apology but faces renewed scrutiny over his past use of Jewish stereotypes and associations with far-right figures.