President Donald Trump sparked backlash Wednesday — and again Thursday — after referring to certain moneylenders as “shylocks,” a centuries‑old antisemitic slur rooted in Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice,” and announcing plans for a UFC match on the White House lawn as part of next year’s America 250th celebration.
Speaking at the Iowa State Fairgrounds during a rally marking the passage of his “Bring Back Balance” tax plan, Trump used the term while describing predatory lenders. “No death tax … borrowing from, in some cases … shylocks and bad people,” he said.
On Friday, after a return to Washington, Trump defended his remarks to reporters as he exited Air Force One, saying he “never heard it that way” and understood “shylock” simply to mean a high-interest lender. But that itself is exactly the definition.
The Anti‑Defamation League responded sharply, calling the phrase “dangerous and deeply offensive,” warning it “evokes a centuries‑old antisemitic trope about Jews and greed.”
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.
It underscores how lies and conspiracies about Jews remain deeply entrenched in our…
— ADL (@ADL) July 4, 2025
Critics like Democratic Rep. Daniel Goldman described the remark as “blatant and vile anti‑Semitism.”
This is blatant and vile antisemitism, and Trump knows exactly what he’s doing.
Anyone who truly opposes antisemitism calls it out wherever it occurs — on both extremes — as I do.
Where is @EliseStefanik and the GOP now that antisemitism is coming from Trump? https://t.co/PFoxu9DBZc
— Daniel Goldman (@danielsgoldman) July 4, 2025
During the same rally, Trump unveiled an attention-grabbing proposal: hosting a UFC fight on the White House grounds to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary next July 4, 2026. He said the bout could draw 20,000 to 25,000 spectators. “Think of this on the grounds of the White House,” he said. “We have a lot of land there.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later confirmed the former president was “dead serious” about holding the event. Trump, who maintains a friendship with UFC President Dana White and has been a prominent MMA presence at major events, framed it as part of a broader year-long slate of patriotic programming — alongside high school sports shows, battlefield commemorations and a National Mall festival.
UFC champion Conor McGregor seemed to love the idea and posted online that he was ready to fight next year at the White House.
https://t.co/5vmrNWAB3W pic.twitter.com/FsfTOlPgV7
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) July 4, 2025
But the proposal raised immediate concerns over its feasibility and intent. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D‑Md., dismissed it as “performative populism,” adding that Trump “is interested in headlines and hype” rather than governing.
Trump is expected to formalize his “Bring Back Balance” tax-cut bill with a White House signing ceremony later today. The legislation echoing his 2017 tax overhaul has drawn criticism from Democrats and fiscal watchdogs, who argue it favors corporations and the wealthy while cutting aid for low-income Americans.
From playing on a harmful stereotype to envisioning a televised fight at the White House, Trump’s rally in Des Moines blended spectacle with controversy, raising questions about what voters remember most: the show or the substance.
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