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Topics: Donald Trump, US News, News, Politics
Lucy Devine
Topics: Donald Trump, US News, News, Politics
President Donald Trump has responded to accusations he used an antisemitic slur to while promoting his latest bill.
Trump signed off his 'big, beautiful bill' on Friday, which was passed in Congress on Thursday (July 3), after representatives approved it with a 218-214 vote.
The almost 1,000-page budget revamp is set to add some $3.4 trillion to the country's national debt (which currently stands at $36.2 trillion) over the next decade.
Among other things, it's set to deliver tax breaks Trump promised when he was running for president in 2024, while also cutting health and food safety programmes.
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However, before the bill was approved, Trump was speaking in Des Moines, Iowa, where he is accused of using an antisemitic slur during a speech.
Discussing the bill, he said: "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."
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Following his address to crowds, Jewish leaders condemned Trump's use of the word 'shylock'.
Shylock is a centuries-old fictional Jewish moneylender — and villain — in Shakespeare's play, The Merchant of Venice.
Over on Shakespeare's Globe, the character is described as having divided critics and audiences more than any other.
He is described as a 'money hungry usurer who tries to claim a pound of another human’s flesh in payment of a debt'.
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Trump has now spoken out over what he said, claiming he had 'never heard it that way'.
“I’ve never heard it that way. To me, Shylock is somebody that’s a money lender at high rates,” Trump told reporters, via CNN, while flying back to DC on Air Force One, which, in the president's defence, is a definition found in mutiple online dictionaries.
“I’ve never heard it that way, you view it differently than me. I’ve never heard that.”
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Regardless, since the comment was made, many Jewish organisations and leaders have condemned Trump's words.
CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Amy Spitalnick, claimed the comment was 'no accident', explaining: “Shylock is among the most quintessential antisemitic stereotypes. This is not an accident. It follows years in which Trump has normalized antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories — and it’s deeply dangerous."
Meanwhile, the Anti-Defamation League added on X: "The term 'Shylock' evokes a centuries-old antisemitic trope about Jews and greed that is extremely offensive and dangerous. President Trump's use of the term is very troubling and irresponsible.
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"It underscores how lies and conspiracies about Jews remain deeply entrenched in our country. Words from our leaders matter and we expect more from the President of the United States."
Meanwhile, New York Representative Daniel Goldman said it was 'blatant and vile antisemitism, and Trump knows exactly what he’s doing'.
UNILAD has reached out to the White House for comment.