The Anti-Defamation League issued a statement Tuesday characterizing the term “shylock” as rooted in antisemitic stereotypes, stating that its use can reinforce harmful tropes about Jewish people regardless of intent. The organization’s social media post made no reference to Donald Trump, who had employed the slur during a Monday evening rally in Kansas supporting Republican senator Roger Marshall’s re-election campaign.
Trump used the term while discussing criticism of Marshall’s patient debt collection lawsuits, saying opponents “made it like, oh, he was some kind of a shylock-type guy.” Trump also made an unsupported claim that Marshall was legally mandated to pursue such cases. Marshall, a physician, has faced scrutiny over having filed lawsuits against more than 700 patients with outstanding bills, resulting in 18 arrests.
Critics of the ADL’s approach argue the organization used selective standards in its response. Matt Duss, a former foreign policy adviser to senator Bernie Sanders, suggested the organization would have been more forceful in naming the speaker had a Democrat made the identical statement. Observers critical of the ADL’s approach contend the group has sometimes weaponized antisemitism accusations against Israel critics, noting Trump’s recent endorsement of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu preceded the ADL’s muted response.
The ADL’s handling of Trump’s language contrasts with its approach to similar remarks by then-Vice President Joe Biden in 2014, when the organization’s national director accepted Biden’s apology and characterized the incident as “a teachable moment.” Trump previously used the same slur at an Iowa rally earlier this year while discussing eliminating inheritance taxes on family farms. After that instance, the ADL called his use of the term “very troubling and irresponsible,” though Trump subsequently stated he was unaware the word carried antisemitic associations, describing it to him simply as referring to moneylenders charging high rates.
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