Trump Claims He's Fighting Antisemitism. Then He Uses a 500-Year-Old Slur.

The president who says he's "protecting Jews" just deployed one of the most recognizable antisemitic tropes in the English language.

Yesterday, Donald Trump stood on a stage in Iowa and called bankers "Shylocks."

President Trump speaking at his Iowa rally where he used the antisemitic term "Shylock".

He claims to be fighting antisemitism on college campuses, but he just used a slur that's been weaponized against Jewish people for over 500 years.

When reporters asked him about it, Trump played dumb. "I've never heard it that way," he said. "To me, Shylock is somebody that's a money lender at high rates."

This is gaslighting at its finest.

What "Shylock" Actually Means

Shylock is the villainous Jewish character from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, a play that demands a pound of flesh from a Christian borrower. For centuries, this character has been the poster child for antisemitic conspiracy theories about Jewish people controlling money and exploiting Christians.

Shylock from Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice," the antisemitic character that gave the slur its meaning.

Every Jewish advocacy group in America immediately called Trump out. The Anti-Defamation League said his words were "extremely offensive and dangerous." Representative Jerry Nadler called it "one of the most recognizable antisemitic slurs in the English language."

But this isn't happening in a vacuum.

Since Trump's rise to power, far-right extremists have flooded social media platforms with Nazi imagery, Holocaust denial, and Jewish conspiracy theories. We've seen synagogue arsons, embassy shootings, and campus attacks.

And now the man who's supposed to be "protecting" Jewish Americans is using the same language that's been dehumanizing them for centuries.

This Isn't Trump's First Time

This isn't Trump's first rodeo with antisemitic dog whistles. Look at what's been normalized in Trump's orbit: Elon Musk giving what appeared to be a Nazi salute at Trump's inauguration, then claiming it was just "enthusiasm." Marjorie Taylor Greene promoting conspiracy theories about "Jewish space lasers" controlling wildfires. QAnon followers spreading blood libel conspiracies about Jewish elites drinking children's blood.

Each time, there’s plausible deniability. And each time, the hatred becomes more mainstream and attacks on Jewish Americans get worse.

This is how authoritarianism works. You normalize hatred through "innocent" slip-ups until the hatred becomes mainstream.

How This Affects Everyone

When presidents use centuries-old slurs, they give permission for everyone else to do the same. When they pretend not to know what those words mean, they're teaching their followers that plausible deniability is all you need to spread hate.

Rising antisemitism has led to increased attacks on Jewish institutions across America.

I've been documenting this pattern of historical erasure and revisionism for years. Every newsletter I publish and every uncomfortable truth I share about America's past puts a target on my back in this political climate.

But stories like this are exactly why I keep fighting.

And it's why I need your help.

Right now, over 27,000 people read this newsletter. But less than 4% are paid subscribers. That makes it incredibly difficult to sustain this work, especially when platforms are actively suppressing content that challenges powerful people.

Here's what becomes possible with your support:

📚 At 5% paid subscribers: I can bring on Jewish historians and Holocaust educators to provide deeper context on antisemitism in America

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The Bottom Line

We're watching the normalization of hate in real time.

We can't let this become normal. We can't let them rewrite history while they're making it.

Will you join me in this fight?

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