US President Trump has pleaded ignorance over comments he made about “Shylocks” following a major congressional win.
The House of Representatives passed the extensive tax-and-spend legislation, dubbed the “Big Beautiful Bill”, by a margin of 218-214 last night.
The vote followed a marathon session which saw two Republican rebels and a more than eight-hour speech from Democrat leader Hakeem Jeffries in an attempt to block the measures.
However, yet more controversy came with Trump’s speech celebrating the hard fought victory.
The president said that the tax cuts included in the bill would mean “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.”
"They destroyed a lot of families, but we did the opposite,” he added.
The remark about Shylocks, particularly in the context on moneylending, evoked images of the namesake Shakespeare character, whose portrayal has long been criticised as an antisemitic stereotype.
In Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, Shylock is a lender who acts as the play’s arch villain, largely because he retaliates against the antisemitic abuse he receives from one of the play’s main characters.
When he gives a loan to protagonist Antonio, he demands a pound of flesh as collateral if it cannot be repaid.
Shylock is eventually brought before a court charged with attempting to murder Antonio, despite the merchant’s agreement to the conditions of the loan, and is forced to give up half his wealth and convert to Christianity.
Despite this background, when questioned about his comments, Trump claimed he was not aware of the antisemitic connotations of the phrase.
"I’ve never heard it that way,” he told reporters, adding: “The meaning of Shylock is somebody that’s a moneylender at high rates.
“You view it differently, I’ve never heard that.”
